GOOD GIRLS: Monday 10PM on NBC – Potential DVR Alert GOOD GIRLS is one of the more promising pilots of the broadcast season–even if it’s itching not to be a broadcast series. Jenna Bans’ script is a #MeToo slant on Breaking Bad and Fun With Dick and Jane, and as that list may suggest, […]
ALL AMERICAN: Wednesday 9PM on CW The ALL AMERICAN of CW’s pilot may or may not be fully representative of the series going forward, since creator and original showrunner April Blair is no longer involved with the production of the show, replaced by writer/producer Nkechi O. Carroll. (The series is under the overall supervision–as […]
THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND – Sunday 10PM on AMC Even as AMC announced the upcoming termination of the WALKING DEAD mothership after one more super-sized season, the network went all-in on the franchise, unveiling multiple new spin-offs. The latest piece of the show’s expanded universe is THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND, which is […]
> Premieres Thursday 10PM on USA: If Nothing Else Is On… (But it’s summer, so nothing is.) At this point, I think we could all identify a USA Network series blindfolded and with the soundtrack running backwards. There’s the quirky, unconventional savant lead–available, like a comfortable sweater, in several colors: cop/detective (In Plain Sight, Psych, […]
> MISSING: Premieres Thursday 8PM on ABC – If Nothing Else Is On… If you’ve seen any of the commercials for ABC’s new MISSING, you know that it’s basically Ashley Judd playing Liam Neeson’s role in Taken, and on the basis of the pilot, really that’s all you need to know. The show is pure […]
THE NEW NORMAL: Tuesday 9:30PM starting September 11 on NBC -If Nothing Else Is On… Disclaimer: Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall. Pilots are often reedited and re-scored, and in some cases even recast or reshot. These critiques shouldn’t be taken as full […]
Planted spin-off pilots are almost always awkward, and THE ORIGINALS, which aired as an episode of The Vampire Diaries, was no exception. The timing of Originals was particularly odd in the Vampire universe, because it yanked two of the show’s most notable supporting characters, original vampires Klaus (Joseph Morgan) and his brother Elijah (Daniel […]
ENLISTED: Friday 9:30PM on FOX – Change the Channel Not all goofy, barely-functional family sitcoms are alike, and although FOX has paired the new ENLISTED with Raising Hope on its Friday schedule, the two aren’t much of a match. Raising Hope is a very smart comedy about people who aren’t necessarily rocket scientists, while […]