Winter TV Roundup, Week 4

We’re making our way through January and the tide of new shows has slowed some. But we’ve still got some options out there. How do you know 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 series this winter. Don’t see a new show listed below? Check previous weeks.

Mondays:
The Hunting Party, Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC (Premiered January 19)
About: NBC had The Blacklist running as a big hit for the network for much of the last decade. While that show has wrapped up its run, the Network has seemingly found something similar to fill that void. This new series, The Hunting Party, got a pilot launch following football last Sunday. It’s now streaming on Peacock. The series was supposed to kick off February 3, but new episodes will move back to its regular Monday timeslot beginning February 10. The series focuses on a secret prison where the CIA is conducting experiments on dangerous prisoners the world believes have already been executed. When a bomb goes off, it leads to a prison break. Quickly a team is put together to hunt down these killers before things go off the rails. And a serialized drama was born! Melissa Roxburgh leads the cast here as a talented, but opinionated FBI profiler tapped to help lead the hunt. She’s a good lead and the rest of the cast is fine in the pilot, which has a few interesting twists. I liked it well enough for what it is and can see how NBC is trying to find its next serialized procedural in the vein of The Blacklist. This works in that sense and should appeal to the same demographic. I’m curious to see how they build on the premise in future episodes.
Pilot Grade: C+

Wednesdays:
Prime Target, Streaming Wednesdays on Apple TV+ (Premiered January 22)
About: This new series on Apple TV+ follows a graduate math student, Edward Brooks (Leo Woodall), who has a prickly personality but a great talent. He’s paired with a new advisor (David Morissey) who tries to put the breaks on his research. Turns out, it’s a topic he’s seen explored before and warns Edward against it. Before Edward can change his mind, his advisor ends up dead and his research destroyed. Desperate to find out why, he begins digging into the mystery. That’s a decent set up for a series, that has a strong cast including veteran actors like Stephen Rea and Martha Plimpton. The idea here seems interesting, too, but the first two episodes moved at something of a glacial pace. Even though they were less than 50 minutes, it felt longer and also felt like little was accomplished. Perhaps some of that will change as the eight-episode series brings future episodes each Wednesday. There’s talent and some potential here, but you have to have some strong desire to stick in because there isn’t a strong enough hook early.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C

Fridays:
The Couple Next Door, Streaming Fridays on Starz (Premiered January 17)
About: I noted last week this drama—which aired in the United Kingdom back in 2023—got off to a slow start. That continued to be true in the second episode. There is a lot going on here in terms of stories and sub plots and threads. That would seem to be good, especially in a six-episode limited series. But the series moves at a glacial pace and doesn’t really seem to make much forward progress on any potential threads. Nor is it apparent after two hours where this is all going. I like the cast all right, but this isn’t worth the time investment. The second episode felt particularly slow and disjointed. It’s an interesting swing, but it’s not got enough bite to keep me coming back for more.
Pilot Grade: C
Second Episode: C-

Sundays:
Watson, Sundays at 10 p.m. on CBS (Premiered January 26)
About: We’re at the time of year when networks are using big football games as a platform to launch what’s to come the rest of the year. That’s the case with Watson, a new drama that is set to take over the 10 p.m. anchor spot on Sundays beginning February 16. The show got its first episode following Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. The show follows Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut), yes that John Watson, who has resumed his work as a doctor after the death of his friend, Sherlock Holmes. So, no Sherlock Holmes here, but we will still get some mysteries. This isn’t the first time CBS has tried to use the Sherlock Holmes/John Watson narrative as the basis for a weekly series. But this feels like something of a unique approach, at least. That’s about the only positive I have for the pilot, which felt disjointed, confusing and, at times, boring. The characters didn’t pop, nor did the story. There are some additional things that could make this more interesting going forward, but so far this feels like something of a miss.
Pilot Grade: C-