Summer TV Roundup, Week 10

 


We’re making our way through August as we approach the end of the summer season and the kick-off to Fall. There are a few new shows still popping up and you might be wondering if they are worth your time to check out. Let this weekly post be your guide as I review the pilot and second episode of new scripted, and select unscripted, series this Summer. Don’t see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Tuesdays:
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on HBO/Max (Premiered August 6)
About: The yearly right-of-passage for NFL fans, this year’s installment of Hard Knocks features the No. 1 overall pick in Caleb Williams and a potentially loaded Bears team. These shows live or die with the stories and personalities, and so far through two episodes this feels like one of the better editions. The streaming version on Max was delayed Tuesday, causing a bit of an uproar, but the series is a lot of fun. Once the second episode dropped, it introduced us to some new players and kept up the interesting stories from the first episode. So far, it’s been a fun ride and a great way to prepare for a new NFL Season.
Pilot Grade: B
Second Episode: B

Wednesdays:
Bad Monkey, Streaming Wednesdays on Apple TV+ (Premiered August 14)
About: This new Apple TV+ series comes from Bill Lawrence, who co-created Ted Lasso. But this is a different kind of series with something of a different tone. The series is based on a novel from Carl Hiaasen and is set in the Florida Keys where Andrew Yancy (Vince Vaughn), a former detective, is drawn into a wild case. It starts when a fishing boat pulls up an arm and leads down a rabbit hole. The series has a good cast—including Michelle Monaghan, John Ortiz, Natalie Martinez, Rob Delaney, and Jodie Turner-Smith, among others. The series was originally ordered in 2021 and had a long road to the screen. With the cast and talent involved you’d be forgiven for expecting some humor. This has some amusing moments, I guess, but it’s played more as an off-beat detective drama. The series is 10 episodes, each between 45 minutes and an hour. The first two dropped Wednesday with the rest of the season dropping each Wednesday. I like Vaughn and I liked the basic premise, but the pilot was a little dry. The second episode moved at a better pace, leaving my hopeful about the rest of the season.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C+

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