Summer TV Roundup, Week 17
We're nearing September and we're starting to get some more interesting options. This week alone, there were three incredible show premiers. That gives me hope that even in this strange time for new content we'll find some diamonds in the rough. In these weekly posts I look at the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this summer. Don't see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.
Tuesday Nights:
Hard Knocks: LA, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on HBO (Premiered August 11)
About: This is an anthology series for HBO Sports, each year following a different team during NFL training camp. This year they're following two different times, the Rams and Chargers, as they prepare to move into their new stadium and home in Los Angeles. Of course, this is also an NFL season like no other, and this show does a nice job of capturing that. The first episode served as an introduction to the teams, the coaches and the set up for the season. It felt good to have football back in some form and I'm looking forward to this exploration of training camp more years than most.
Pilot Grade: B
Hard Knocks: LA, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on HBO (Premiered August 11)
About: This is an anthology series for HBO Sports, each year following a different team during NFL training camp. This year they're following two different times, the Rams and Chargers, as they prepare to move into their new stadium and home in Los Angeles. Of course, this is also an NFL season like no other, and this show does a nice job of capturing that. The first episode served as an introduction to the teams, the coaches and the set up for the season. It felt good to have football back in some form and I'm looking forward to this exploration of training camp more years than most.
Pilot Grade: B
Wednesday Nights:
Coroner, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW (Premiered August 5)
About: This new series is actually from Canada, and is part of The CW filling new content heading into the Fall as their regular shows await the resumption of production. This one centers on a new coroner, Serinda Swan, who is also newly widowed, dealing with money problems, and trying to be a good mother to her teenage son. Swan does a nice job leading the series, which is more of a weekly procedural feel, something we're not used to seeing on The CW. That being said, it's enjoyable and well produced. This feels like a solid, watchable addition to the lineup.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C+
Coroner, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW (Premiered August 5)
About: This new series is actually from Canada, and is part of The CW filling new content heading into the Fall as their regular shows await the resumption of production. This one centers on a new coroner, Serinda Swan, who is also newly widowed, dealing with money problems, and trying to be a good mother to her teenage son. Swan does a nice job leading the series, which is more of a weekly procedural feel, something we're not used to seeing on The CW. That being said, it's enjoyable and well produced. This feels like a solid, watchable addition to the lineup.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C+
Sunday Nights:
Lovecraft Country, Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO (Premiered August 16)
About: This latest series comes from Misha Green, based on her novel, and producer Jordan Peele. It's a horror series of sorts, focusing on a young man (Jonathan Majors) that has to take a trip through Jim Crow America in the 1950s to find his missing father. Accompanying him on the journey is his uncle (Courtney B. Vance), who makes these trips to provide information Green Book style to travelers about where it's safe to stop, eat and stay. Also on the journey is a friend, Leti Lewis (Jurnee Smollett), who is broke and looking for a new start. The three of them get more than they bargained for when they're stalked by monsters near the same town H. P. Lovecraft used as inspiration for his works. The pilot featured a beautiful look and an haunting narrative. The three leads were quite good, as were the supporting players. And the dark, twisty turns worked perfectly as the series tackled a couple different types of monsters, the fierce creatures that want to tear you up and the men with evil in their hearts that seek to punish and abuse others based solely on the color of their skin. This looks to be a potentially great hit for HBO, which has quietly put together an excellent summer lineup.
Pilot Grade: B+
Lovecraft Country, Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO (Premiered August 16)
About: This latest series comes from Misha Green, based on her novel, and producer Jordan Peele. It's a horror series of sorts, focusing on a young man (Jonathan Majors) that has to take a trip through Jim Crow America in the 1950s to find his missing father. Accompanying him on the journey is his uncle (Courtney B. Vance), who makes these trips to provide information Green Book style to travelers about where it's safe to stop, eat and stay. Also on the journey is a friend, Leti Lewis (Jurnee Smollett), who is broke and looking for a new start. The three of them get more than they bargained for when they're stalked by monsters near the same town H. P. Lovecraft used as inspiration for his works. The pilot featured a beautiful look and an haunting narrative. The three leads were quite good, as were the supporting players. And the dark, twisty turns worked perfectly as the series tackled a couple different types of monsters, the fierce creatures that want to tear you up and the men with evil in their hearts that seek to punish and abuse others based solely on the color of their skin. This looks to be a potentially great hit for HBO, which has quietly put together an excellent summer lineup.
Pilot Grade: B+
Streaming Series:
Star Trek: Lower Decks, Now Streaming on CBS All Access (Premiered August 6)
About: This weekly series is another "Star Trek" offering for CBS All Access, which has "Discovery," "Picard" and another live action series coming soon. The "Star Trek" brand is really the anchor for original content on the streaming platform, and within that brand we've seen them branch out in terms of style and content. "Lower Decks" is an animated series that focuses on ensigns working well away from the bridge, giving a different kind of take on life in Star Fleet. I thought the pilot had some amusing moments but the second episode felt like a bit of a step down. I'm excited for the idea and the concept, but I'm hoping for a little more engaging content in future episodes.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C-
Star Trek: Lower Decks, Now Streaming on CBS All Access (Premiered August 6)
About: This weekly series is another "Star Trek" offering for CBS All Access, which has "Discovery," "Picard" and another live action series coming soon. The "Star Trek" brand is really the anchor for original content on the streaming platform, and within that brand we've seen them branch out in terms of style and content. "Lower Decks" is an animated series that focuses on ensigns working well away from the bridge, giving a different kind of take on life in Star Fleet. I thought the pilot had some amusing moments but the second episode felt like a bit of a step down. I'm excited for the idea and the concept, but I'm hoping for a little more engaging content in future episodes.
Pilot Grade: C+
Second Episode: C-
Teenage Bounty Hunters, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered August 14)
About: This latest series from Kathleen Jordan and producer Jenji Kohan ("Weeds," "Orange is the New Black") focuses on a pair of teenage sisters, Sterling (Maddie Phillips) and Blair (Anjelica Bette Fellini), who attend a private Christian school. They're ultra religious and right-wing, and they end up crossing paths with a local bounty hunter, Bowser (Kadeem Hardison), and joining his trade. This series is really well put together and very funny, but it's also got moments that are completely sacreligious. The opening sequence, in fact, features a use of Scripture I've never seen and never thought I would see. But Phillips and Fellini are so good they sell it beautifully, and the first two episodes were really fun. Netflix is a place with a lot of different content coming from a lot of different voices, and sometimes you find one that surprises you with how quickly you buy into it. "Teenage Bounty Hunters" was that kind of series for me. I wasn't expecting a lot, but it sucked me in and I'm excited to see where it goes.
Pilot Grade: B+
Second Episode: B+
About: This latest series from Kathleen Jordan and producer Jenji Kohan ("Weeds," "Orange is the New Black") focuses on a pair of teenage sisters, Sterling (Maddie Phillips) and Blair (Anjelica Bette Fellini), who attend a private Christian school. They're ultra religious and right-wing, and they end up crossing paths with a local bounty hunter, Bowser (Kadeem Hardison), and joining his trade. This series is really well put together and very funny, but it's also got moments that are completely sacreligious. The opening sequence, in fact, features a use of Scripture I've never seen and never thought I would see. But Phillips and Fellini are so good they sell it beautifully, and the first two episodes were really fun. Netflix is a place with a lot of different content coming from a lot of different voices, and sometimes you find one that surprises you with how quickly you buy into it. "Teenage Bounty Hunters" was that kind of series for me. I wasn't expecting a lot, but it sucked me in and I'm excited to see where it goes.
Pilot Grade: B+
Second Episode: B+
Ted Lasso, Now Streaming on Apple TV+ (Premiered August 14)
About: As a streaming network, Apple TV+ is really coming into its own. Its latest offering is a comedy, focusing on the titular Ted Lasso (Jason Sudekis), a college football coach of some renown in America who is hired to coach a professional soccer team in England's Premier League. He heads over with little knowledge of the game, team or league, but plenty of heart. This is an amusing set up, and the cast around Sudekis works quite well, too. Brendan Hunt is quite good as the assistant coach, and Jeremy Swift makes me laugh as the team official. Hannah Waddingham plays the team owner who has ulterior motives in making the hire, while Juno Temple plays the girlfriend of one of the players and one of Lasso's closest confidants. I really enjoyed the pilot and quickly watched all three episodes released for viewing on Friday. The next one drops this week. This is one of my favorite new shows of the year so far and I'm excited to see where it goes. It's a comedy with a lot of heart, and it really works.
Pilot Grade: A-
Second Episode: A-
About: As a streaming network, Apple TV+ is really coming into its own. Its latest offering is a comedy, focusing on the titular Ted Lasso (Jason Sudekis), a college football coach of some renown in America who is hired to coach a professional soccer team in England's Premier League. He heads over with little knowledge of the game, team or league, but plenty of heart. This is an amusing set up, and the cast around Sudekis works quite well, too. Brendan Hunt is quite good as the assistant coach, and Jeremy Swift makes me laugh as the team official. Hannah Waddingham plays the team owner who has ulterior motives in making the hire, while Juno Temple plays the girlfriend of one of the players and one of Lasso's closest confidants. I really enjoyed the pilot and quickly watched all three episodes released for viewing on Friday. The next one drops this week. This is one of my favorite new shows of the year so far and I'm excited to see where it goes. It's a comedy with a lot of heart, and it really works.
Pilot Grade: A-
Second Episode: A-
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