Spring TV Roundup, Week 2

 

We’re nearing the end of March, meaning that many are on Spring Break, or about to be. That gives you some time to sit back, relax, and dive into some new content. But what’s worth your time to check out? Let this weekly post be your guide as I review the pilot and second episode of new scripted series this Spring. Don’t see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Wednesdays:
Palm Royale, streaming on Apple TV+ (Premiered March 20)|
About: This new dramedy from Apple TV+ takes the action back to 1969 in Florida. There, a new woman, Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig), is trying to break into high society and a certain elite club. But the members, including Dinah Donahue (Leslie Bibb) and Evelyn Rollins (Alison Janney) aren’t sold. Turns out, Maxine has a connection to this world, or rather her pilot husband (Josh Lucas) does. Can she pull off the transition to society? And why is she so focused on joining this group. That’s the central focus here. This is a strong cast, that also includes Laura Dern, Ricky Martin, and Carol Burnett. It’s got a good look and really re-creates this time and place. With the pieces laid out, and the performers in the cast, you might be expecting something funny. I know I was. But through the first two episodes, this is a more serious endeavor. There are lighter moments, but it feels more soapy than silly. This series is 10 episodes, with the first three dropping Wednesday and subsequent episodes dropping weekly. Episodes run about an hour, and I thought the first two were intriguing as they built the world. It’s one of two new Apple series that could prove fun this Spring.
Pilot Grade: B-
Second Episode: C

X-Men ’97, Streaming on Disney+ (Premiered March 20)
About: This new Marvel series is something of a throwback in terms of story and style. It’s a sequel series to the original X-Men animated series that ran from 1992 to 1997. In fact, the story picks up where the original story left off, just after the death of Professor Charles Xavier. This new series even has some of the same voice cast from the original animated series. The first season is 10 episodes and it’s already been renewed, albeit with a new showrunner for season two. The first two episodes dropped Wednesday, each about 30 minutes, with subsequent episodes dropping weekly. I was a youngster watching the original series, which was always one of my favorites. There’s a heavy dose of nostalgia with this new series that works for me, and likely will for fans of a certain age that saw the original. But I think the story works well enough for new viewers, too. I enjoyed all the trappings of the series, including the iconic original opening sequence. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe enduring some fatigue and changes, this blast-from-the-past feels like a welcome addition to the landscape.
Pilot Grade: B-
Second Episode: C+

Streaming Series:
Ark: The Animated Series, now streaming on Paramount+ (Premiered March 21)
About: This animated series, based on the video game Ark: Survival Evolved, which was released in 2015. The date of the series release, and its streaming location, was something of a mystery, making the Thursday release a welcome surprise. The first six episodes dropped, with seven more set to drop at some point in the future. Like the game, the series focuses on Helena Walker (Madeleine Madden), who wakes in the ocean and washes ashore on a mysterious island where creatures long extinct still roam. She finds people, too, who all arrived the same way and were plucked from different times and spaces. She has to navigate the world, its inhabitants, and find a way to get back home. There’s a great voice cast here, which includes David Tennant, Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, and Gerard Butler, among others. The pilot runs about 45 minutes, with the rest around 30 minutes, making for a quick binge. The animated style is strong, and the story moves at a good pace owing to the source material. For fans of the game and fans of a good adult animated series, this will make for an interesting binge.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

3 Body Problem, Now Streaming on Netflix (Premiered March 21)
About: This new Netflix series comes from creators David Benioff an D.B. Weiss, the pair behind Game of Thrones on HBO. Here, they’re adapting another famous and famously dense novel. This eight-episode season is now available to binge on Netflix, with episodes running at or just over an hour. It follows a Chinese astrophysicist who saw her father murdered during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. Years later, she’s recruited by the military to work on a special project, making contact with an alien species. In the present, the connections to her work are impacting contemporary scientists, who begin dying. This is a complex story and a complex set up here, too. It rolls out in big doses in the early episodes that have to work hard to introduce the characters and build the world. The look here is solid, as you can see time and money were taken to craft the production. Whether the story connects with you or not is a different story. There were aspects I found interesting, but I wasn’t totally sold or taken with the characters and story early on. There are a lot of options out there, and without a strong hook it can be difficult to want to persist. Book readers know there is a payoff here, that presumably the series will deliver. But it’s a matter of whether you want to take that journey.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

Davey and Jonesie’s Locker, Now Streaming on Hulu (Premiered March 22)
About: Comedy is hard, especially when you’re trying to sell a high concept. That’s the case with this new series, a comedy imported from Canada. This one comes from Evany Rosen, and centers on a pair of outcasts, Davey (Veronika Slowikowska) and Jonesie (Jaelynn Thora Brooks) who end up creating a stir and escaping through an inter-dimensional portal in their locker. They find weird and wild other worlds where they become fugitives. Can they make it home? As you can tell by the description, this is a wacky premise. The performers are solid enough, but this is the kind of show that will likely have a narrow niche appeal. I’m not in that niche. This was a bit too much and a bit too odd for me. It’s only six episodes, each about 30 minutes. It’s a quick binge but it will depend on how you feel about the style, format, and the story.
Pilot Grade: C-
Second Episode: C-