Winter TV Roundup, Week 1


We're officially in Winter, at least as of December 21. There are still a few shows sliding in before the end of the year. But many, many more that will be coming as we head into 2020. These posts are typically Tuesdays, but I jumped up a bit this week thanks to a little thing called Christmas Eve! In these posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this winter. Don't see a new show below, it hasn't aired yet!

Streaming Series:
Soundtrack, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered December 18)
About: The idea here is that there is a soundtrack for everyone, and in this series it is more like music videos. Characters endue love and loss, and frequently break into song. Not their own songs, with their own voices, but surreal choreographed music videos of real popular songs that are meant to illustrate something. The series comes from Josh Safran, who worked on "Smash," "Gossip Girl," and "Quantico." And it's led by Paul James, Callie Hernandez and Jenna Dewan, and I thought they all brought something interesting to the project. I wasn't wild about the idea at first, but then there is a twist at the end of the first episode that sort of got me a little bit. It's ironic because it feels like a similar kind of twist as "This Is Us," but that was a twist that made me loathe the show. This one sort of endeared me a bit. The second episode wasn't bad either. It's a 10-episode season, and the episodes are about an hour. I don't know if the concept totally works, but it was more interesting than I expected.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C+

The Witcher, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered December 20)
About: This latest series is based on the novels and the popular game. Netflix put a lot into this, and there has been a lot of talk about this being the next "Game of Thrones." It centers on monster hunter Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), who leads this adventure, of sorts. Any how, I watched the first two episodes and this is no "Game of Thrones." It was weird, violent and over-the-top at times. And it was also hard to follow and boring. It's only eight episodes, but every episode is at least an hour, so it's a bit of a commitment. And not one I have the slightest interest in making after what I've seen. Others may feel different.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

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