Stephanie Kulbach/EPIX
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: Berlin Station.
The Show: Berlin Station (Sundays, Epix)
The Premise: When a series of embarrassing US secrets are revealed by a mysterious international hacker known only as Thomas Shaw—a name that truly Styx in your head—the CIA dispatches agent Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage) to its Berlin outpost, where he’s tasked with tracking down the source of the leaks. But it turns out Miller’s new colleagues are keeping a few secrets of their own.
The Pilot Program Take: I have several weird wheelhouses, including—but not limited to—spy flicks, post-Cold War German culture, and pretty much anything starring Richard Jenkins. So I’m clearly the target audience for Berlin Station, whose pilot lacks the momentum-maxing oomph and intrigue of, say, The Americans, but makes up for it with an ace supporting cast, including Jenkins, Rhys Ifans, and Battlestar Galactica’s Michelle Forbes. They’re all part of the tense, troubled Berlin office that’s slowly coming undone—and not just because of Shaw’s illegally obtained CIA revelations: Jenkins’ character, a close-to-retirement lifer, is carrying on an affair with his secretary, while Ifans’ hard-partying field agent has gotten way too close to one of his sources. Even if Miller doesn’t succeed in finding the mole, there’s a good chance this crew will likely self-destruct.
WIRED Pilot Program: Berlin Station
6/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
Spy stuff.
Tired
Needs more tinkering and tailoring.
Epix
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
So why isn’t the first episode of Berlin Station more fun? Part of the problem is Miller, the show’s ostensible anchor; as played by Armitage, he’s so square-jawed and square-intentioned, he almost fades into the dark German night. And the show’s titular spook-center can feel overly crowded at times, full of interchangeably urgent-seeming employees—all of which makes it hard to tell which of them deserve our focus.
Thankfully, Berlin Station comes alive when it plunges into its namesake city, what with its dour safe-houses, rooftop-rendezvous spots, and stark interrogation rooms. The show’s best moments are the ones that get the agents out of the office and into the tempting world around them, whether it’s Ifans’ oily agent unwinding on a moonlit party boat, or Jenkins’ bureaucrat trying to tactfully, matter-of-factly negotiate with his German counterpart over a meal. Berlin Station has already found the perfect setting for its damaged characters; the real mystery is whether or not the show can corral and connect its’ players various moral crises into something bigger than just a bunch of run-of-the-mill spy-jinks.
The Verdict: Berlin Station has many of the pieces and performances it needs to be a solid thriller, but it could use a lot more tinkering and tailoring.
TL; DR: Gut enough for now.
John P. Fleenor/HBO
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: Insecure
The Show: Insecure (Sundays, HBO)
The Premise: Issa (Issa Rae) is 29, and afraid of settling: for her job at We Got Y’all, a south LA nonprofit staffed by clueless white idealists, for her boyfriend Lawrence (Jay Ellis), pondering his app’s business plan from the couch, for a life that isn’t quite what she imagined. At the end of her 20s, self-described “aggressively passive” Issa and her driven best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji) are insecure about their life choices—and whether they’ve chosen at all.
The Pilot Program Take: As fans of her web series, Awkward Black Girl, have seen, Issa Rae knows how to make heartfelt humor about feeling uncertain. Rae brings that self-aware confusion—and rapping—to HBO’s Insecure, which she developed with former Nightly Show host Larry Wilmore.
recommends 2016
WIRED Pilot Program: Insecure
8/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
Clever, honest efforts at figuring out how to be in your late 20s
Tired
Figuring out how to be in your late 20s
HBO
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
And Rae delivers. In the pilot, Issa concisely explains herself to a classroom of skeptical kids—and to an equally skeptical bar at a rap open mic night—but it’ll take her a season to articulate who she is to herself. As she tries to figure out whether she’s landed in a life she doesn’t want, Issa is self-deprecating and indecisive, but she’s also witty and sharp. Her off-handed cleverness is especially great played against her out-of-touch boss, whose black cultural references are W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, and her overeager, idealistic coworkers. (When one coworker asks her why some of the black kids aren’t swimming on a field trip to an LA beach, Issa responds with a straight face: “Slavery.”)
But Issa isn’t the only fully-formed character: The show works so well because her supporting cast is nuanced and unsure, too. Molly, an associate at a law firm who is asked to advise a new hire on toning down the way she talks, is both frustrated and unapologetic about her high standards; Lawrence starts out floundering and unambitious, but develops into an earnest guy just as confused by where he’s landed as Issa. Even Frieda (Lisa Joyce), Issa’s painfully politically correct coworker, gets over herself enough to become an actual friend.
The Verdict: Insecure is a smart, empathetic comedy about the self-doubt of being in your late 20s that engages with race without being defined by it. (Much like Atlanta.) It’s funny and self-aware and raunchy, while still earnest.
TL;DR: If you’re ready for the uncertainty of 29, watch it.
Joe Lederer/NBC
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: Timeless
The Show: Timeless (Mondays, NBC)
The Premise: A nefarious thief has taken control of a time-traveling mothership—and only a ragtag crew can stop him. Lucy (Abigail Spencer), a wide-eyed anthropology professor, Rufus (Malcolm Barrett), a bashful scientist and time travel machine pilot, and Wyatt (Matt Lanter), a stoic soldier with a dark past travel back in time to stop Garcia Flynn (Goran Visnjic) and his time bandit cronies from altering human history, visiting historical moments along the way.
WIRED Pilot Program: Timeless
4/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
Time travel
Tired
Time travel
NBC
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
The Pilot Program Take: Timeless is one of three time-travel shows entering an already crowded field this fall, as Making History (Fox) and Time After Time (ABC) compete with the established 11.22.63 (Hulu), Outlander (Starz), and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (CW). But, to its credit, Timeless takes a more educational spin: each episode promises a trip to a different historical situation. In the first episode, the heroes travel to New Jersey in 1937 to witness the explosion of the Hindenburg. Future episodes will take them to Lincoln’s assassination, Nazi Germany, the Alamo, Watergate, and the Space Race. And if the jaunty caps and pinball machines of the pilot are any indication, there will be gimmicky historical nods aplenty in every era.
But the real draw of Timeless lies in how it tries to reconcile 21st century outlooks with the prejudices of earlier eras. New Jersey in the 1930s—not to mention Nazi Germany, or 1860s Washington DC—aren’t too friendly towards women and people of color, and the show certainly takes advantage of a teachable moment. As Rufus tells a sneering policeman while locked up in a New Jersey jail, “I hope you live long enough to see Michael Jordan dunk, Michael Jackson dance, Mike Tyson punch—really, just any black guy named Michael.” And when the characters aren’t traveling through time, the show promises to get into the nitty-gritty of how small changes in the past affect big changes in the present, through the personal lives of the protagonists.
The Verdict: The show’s premise is goofy, and the dialogue can feel that way, too. (And not just the part with 2016 diction in a 1930s bar.) The historical antics are a good time, but in a crowded field of time-travel dramas, the most educational does not mean the best.
TL;DR: If you’re the kind of person who likes to pontificate on the “If you lived in a different era, when would you choose?” question—and likes to qualify it with what it would be like for anyone who’s not a white guy—then take a vicarious spin. Otherwise, give it a pass.
John P. Johnson/HBO
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: Westworld
The Show: Westworld (Sundays, HBO)
The Premise: Based on Michel Crichton’s 1973 film of the same name, the series is set in and around a futuristic theme park with hundreds of advanced robots are used to form various experiences for park guests. Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), the creator of the park, and Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright), build the artificial citizens; Theresa Cullen (Sidse Babett Knudsen) leads the operations of the park, and is responsible to shareholders and management; Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood), Maeve Millay (Thandie Newton), and Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro) are all characters at Westworld. The cast also includes Ed Harris, James Marsden, Clifton Collins Jr., and Luke Hemsworth.
The Pilot Program Take: Disney prides itself on preserving the magic of its theme parks by maintaining absolute order over all attractions and characters. But imagine if all the cast members playing familiar characters were instead complicated robots updated with increasingly complex behavioral possibilities and dense narrative webs that could be affected by guest interaction? That’s what’s going on in Westworld. It’s like a combination of The Truman Show and Jurassic Park (at the outset of the series there are “host” malfunctions spreading like a virus throughout the characters thanks to a recent software update).
recommends 2016
WIRED Pilot Program: Westworld
8/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
AI, compelling concept, Evan Rachel Wood
Tired
Sexual violence against female characters
HBO
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
The pilot is very slow, introducing viewers to the cyclical nature of the park and how guests interact with that daily routine to create widely varying experiences. Most of what the Gunslinger (Ed Harris) does has no connection to anything else going on in the park, and he’s the most mysterious element. But it ends in a place that suggests the series has planned a long journey, where the hosts slowly begin to rebel against their masters and the intentions of the company that owns Westworld go beyond that of providing a theme park for the super-rich. Some viewers will be put off by the insistence on playing things close to the vest; others will be pulled in by what doesn’t get revealed in the first hour.
The Verdict: It is disheartening to watch yet another HBO drama contain the threat of sexual violence against female characters in the first half hour. If this is an entirely fantastical western setting where anything is possible, why is it one that adheres to historical detail so much that it caters almost exclusively to male pleasures of violence and sex? But it is also deeply compelling as a blend of the western genre and some Isaac Asimov-esque concerns about artificial intelligence and the advancement of robotics. There are so many things left unclear by the end of the pilot that it demands viewers keep watching just to keep getting details. From the few trailers HBO has released, the clips not from the first episode suggest there are many more layers left to peel away. It has the makings of a science-fiction drama juggernaut.
TL;DR You have to watch something until Game of Thrones comes back. It should be this.
Myles Aronowitz/Netflix
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: Luke Cage
The Show: Luke Cage
The Premise: The titular Cage (Mike Colter), an escaped convict who underwent a prison experiment that accidentally gave him bulletproof skin and superhuman strength, lives as a fugitive in Harlem. He works two jobs, sweeping up at a barbershop, and washing dishes at a newly-renovated club owned by gangster Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes (Mahershala Ali). Cornell’s cousin Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) is the local councilwoman, working to improve her community while also helping her family. Cage just wants to keep a low profile, but as tensions rise in Harlem, he decides to use his powers for good and protect those who can’t defend themselves from the corrupt forces in the neighborhood.
The Pilot Program Take: Ever since Colter signed on to play Cage in last year’s first season of Jessica Jones, it has been common knowledge that a standalone series for the character was forthcoming. As such, this first episode functions less like a pilot—which typically tells an encapsulated story and gives viewers an idea of overall tone—and more like an introductory chapter. It moves slowly, introducing Luke Cage’s status quo—his boss at the barber shop, Pops (Frankie Faison), knows his secret—and and establishing that he mostly stays out of sight. But bit by bit, Cage is drawn into situations where he can see the criminal forces affecting innocent people and cannot in good conscience sit idly by.
recommends 2016
WIRED Pilot Program: Luke Cage
8/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
Awesome cast, great visual aesthetic, killer soundtrack
Tired
Slow start
Netflix
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
Cage and Misty Knight (Simone Missick), a police detective who encounters him at Cornell’s club, have some chemistry issues, since they mostly flirt awkwardly without knowing much about each other. But hopefully they’ll eventually develop a better rapport. Woodard and Ali, on the other hand, are spectacularly matched as Cottonmouth and Mariah. Cornell needs his cousin’s legitimate prominence to help his business interests, and she needs his street-level power. But both resent the other for perceived slights. Cornell thinks Mariah is ashamed of him, Mariah hates that Cornell believes he has the real power behind her achievements.
Just like all the trailers showed, the best moments of Luke Cage are the fight scenes, which contain such ludicrously unbalanced matches that they create slapstick comedy. This isn’t the visual dynamism of Daredevil, who trained for decades to overcome his blindness. Cage is impenetrable, and the impossibility of his dominance offers so many possibilities for comic beats. There’s only one funny fight in the pilot, but there will surely be more as Cage rises to full hero status.
The Verdict: It starts slow and deliberate, but that’s just because it doesn’t want to overplay a strong hand. A stellar cast, a sumptuous visual aesthetic, and a killer soundtrack are all here for another powerful entry in the Marvel television universe.
TL;DR: Sweet Christmas! Binge it all this weekend. You know you want to.
Amazon Studios
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: I Love Dick
The Show: I Love Dick (Amazon)
The Premise: Loosely based on Chris Kraus’ novel of same name, I Love Dick follows a Brooklyn couple to Marfa, Texas where they both become infatuated with a cowboy intellectual named Dick (Kevin Bacon). Chris (Kathryn Hahn) is a filmmaker. Her husband, Sylvère (Griffin Dunne), is a writer. They’re both the kind of neurotic creatives that will likely become both more creative and neurotic as their weird infatuation with Dick grows.
The Pilot Program Take: This is showrunner (and patriarchy-toppler) Jill Soloway’s next project for Amazon, which means even if everyone onscreen seems like kind of a lot at first, there will be something about them that you can’t quite look away from. (It doesn’t hurt that two of the people here are Bacon, dusting off his Footloose swagger for his Dick, and Hahn, who as never been bad in anything ever, not even Bad Moms or Bad Words.)
recommends 2016
WIRED Pilot Program: I Love Dick
7/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
Jill Soloway, smart writing, Kathryn Hahn, Marfa
Tired
Only one episode
Amazon
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
But beyond the smart-weirdos-in-a-unique-situation scenario Dick sets up, there’s a lot of promising material to dig into here. For one, there are Sylvère’s classmates in the writing seminar he’s participating in with Dick. Only a few are introduced in the pilot, but you get the sense that anyone who would go to Marfa (or stay in Marfa) with an aloof academic like Dick is likely just as fun to unpack as the show’s central couple. There’s also Sylvère and Chris’ neighbors, who bring a certain level of Texas realness to the scene. Their neighbor Devon, for example, is the kind of person to loan Chris boots and write a play stoned—and that’s just in the pilot.
Then there’s the prospect of Dick himself. As Jen Chandler noted on Vulture, he’s the kind of guy whose pointed and prodding observations about life could easily inspire “ranty think pieces” or intense levels of interest (or both)—and in the hands of Soloway, it’ll likely be the latter. She creates characters you hate to love and Dick could be her masterpiece if she’s given enough leeway.
The Verdict: The jury will be out even longer than usual on this one. Because of Amazon’s policy of releasing pilots and letting viewers comment on them before committing to whole seasons, I Love Dick only just got picked up for a full season this week. So even though the pilot is out now, it’ll be months before we see where it goes. Keep your eyes open for this one, though.
TL;DR: You’ll love Dick, too.
Zac Hahn/Netflix
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: Easy
The Show: Easy (Netflix)
The Premise: Created by mumblecore maestro Joe Swanberg, Easy is an eight-episode anthology series that follows a bunch of 20-, 30-, 40-somethings through all sorts of everyday problems in modern-day Chicago. It’s written and directed by Swanberg and stars a rather weird grab bag of actors ranging from Malin Ackerman to Marc Maron to Orlando Bloom. (Yes, that guy.)
The Pilot Program Take: Look, we’ve all seen this show before. Young(ish) people trying to figure out their relationships, sex lives, etc. is the basis for roughly 60 percent of the shows on television in one way or another. There’s a very good chance we don’t need another example of this.
WIRED Pilot Program: Easy
6/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
Joe Swanberg, funny scenarios, great cast
Tired
Another show about hip people figuring out life
Netflix
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
But! That doesn’t mean Easy isn’t a good time. There’s a reason bumbling idiots trying to spice up their sex lives end up on TV a lot: they’re funny! And in the hands of Swanberg, who makes sure everyone dials it down a notch, the jokes are far more subtle and far more, well, easy to take. A lot of humorous things happen in Easy, but that doesn’t mean they’re played for laughs.
Take, for example, the first episode “The F**king Study.” After a friend brings up a study that found gender normative couples have better sex, an actor (Michael Churns) and his wife (Elizabeth Reaser) immediately become insecure about whether or not they’re sufficient lovers. It’s all normal and trite—right down to their attempts at sexy cosplay—until the final few minutes when it becomes clear just what people in relationships will do to make their partners happy. (You’ll have to watch to find out what we mean by that.) After 23 minutes of awkward humor, the true nature of their marriage comes to the surface in ways both beautiful and full of pathos—and it all comes through on Reaser’s face. It’s the realest of the real.
The Verdict: There’s no way Swanberg pointed his camera at this much talent and didn’t get some wonderful moments. There will undoubtedly be hits and misses, but the former should far outnumber the latter.
TL;DR: This is your new Love. Watch it.
Tommy Garcia/Fox
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: Pitch
The Show: Pitch (Thursdays, Fox)
The Premise: Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury), the first female pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball, is set to make her debut for the perpetually struggling San Diego Padres. She’s got a fearsome sports agent (Ali Larter) primed to take advantage of a possible superstar, an old-school manager hesitant to heed the desires of the front office, and a jaded catcher (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) who’s comfortable accepting adulation without doing much to alter the team’s chances of winning. Away from the limelight, her domineering father (Michael Beach) mercilessly hones her game, and flashbacks show how she got to be a major league talent. The series has the official blessing of MLB (Fox also broadcasts the playoffs ever year, which definitely helps), so the series has real locations, real logos, and cameos from real announcers and commentators like Joe Buck, Colin Cowherd, and the excellent Katie Nolan.
The Pilot Program Take: This fall marks the 10th anniversary of Friday Night Lights’ debut on NBC. In the intervening decade, there have been precious few sports series (The Game around football, Survivor’s Remorse around basketball) on the air, and nothing approaching the world of baseball. Pitch isn’t as polished out of the gate nor as ambitious as Jason Katims’ adaptation of Buzz Bissinger’s high school football book, but it’s at the epicenter of many conversations in the sports world about tolerance and equality.
recommends 2016
WIRED Pilot Program: Pitch
7/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
Solid spots drama, decent cast, feminism
Tired
Lots of seemingly unnecessary scheming
Fox
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
Baseball is somewhat notorious for having a culture that reacts poorly to change, whether in style of play or the makeup of the league. Mo’ne Davis captured the country’s attention when she became the first girl to pitch and win for her Little League team while playing in the Little League World Series. Centering the show on a black woman becoming the first female major league pitcher—and marketing it as a “true story on the verge” hooks viewers from the outset.
And the series cleverly sidesteps the physical disadvantage to women competing with men on the baseball diamond by making Ginny a screwball specialist. Actual pitchers like R.A. Dickey and Tim Wakefield have held on for much longer than they should have because of the knuckleball—pitch masters are able to compete on account of their scarcity. It also builds in a backstory for Ginny and her father, whose grim tutelage didn’t nurture so much as forge Ginny’s talent in a crucible absent of any praise.
Perhaps the strangest thing about the pilot is that Mark-Paul Gosselar’s character is an aging star catcher. Most teams would shift a dependable star away from that position to the infield to protect his health. He needs to be there to converse with Ginny, and his character’s turnaround near the end of the pilot is one of the best scenes. But it’s the one moment where the show lets verisimilitude dip just a little bit.
The Verdict: There hasn’t been a sports drama on a major broadcast network for many years, and Pitch deserves attention as it starts its story. The twist at the end of the pilot is the biggest emotional ploy in an episode that traffics in extremes. But it’s a strong underpinning for why Ginny turns out the way she does. There’s a lot of locker room consternation about how to deal with a woman—seeing her prepare in a dingy space separated from the team is an example of how ill-equipped professional sports is to deal with movement toward equality. There’s also some unnecessary scheming from Larter’s sports agent and the young general manager of the Padres. But there’s promise here, and a natural narrative arc that follows the baseball season and teases out plots with Ginny’s former teammate from AAA, her relationship with friends and family, and how the league reacts to her abilities.
TL;DR: Give this one three episodes before deciding whether or not Pitch is for you.
Darren Michaels/Fox
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: Lethal Weapon
The Show: Lethal Weapon (Wednesdays, Fox)
The Premise: Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford), an ex-Navy SEAL with a death wish, gets partnered with Roger Murtaugh (Damon Wayans), a veteran detective who just wants to stay safe for his family. The unlikely pair learns to get along and fight crime in Los Angeles, all while playing by their own rules. Oh yeah, and it’s a remake of the film series starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.
The Pilot Program Take: The show opens with Riggs chasing a criminal through the El Paso desert while on the phone with his pregnant wife, driving herself to the hospital to give birth. Due to his impending fatherhood, he stops abruptly and decides to snipe the speeding truck from a distance. Before the audience has a chance to think about why this idea hasn’t registered somewhere during the preceding nine months, Lethal Weapon borrows the most tired and least tasteful trope du jour—Riggs’ wife and unborn child are T-boned by a semi. This is all before the first commercial break.
WIRED Pilot Program: Lethal Weapon
3/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
The original movies
Tired
This reboot
Fox
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
Aside from that opening, this remake no one was clamoring for assumes its source material functions as a shortcut to character building. The only way to understand Riggs at all is by transposing everything viewers previously learned from Gibson’s earlier portrayal. Yes, he has a tragic past. Yes, he lives in an RV. Yes, he talks openly about suicide. The problem is Crawford doesn’t have the kinetic mania of Gibson, so all we really see is a slick-talking, fearless, giddy cop who sometimes contemplates ending it all.
The same is true with Wayan’s Murtaugh. Just back to the force after almost dying, his wife (Keesha Sharp), a successful defense attorney, spends barely half a breath trying to convince him to retire. Danny Glover played a worn-out cop begrudgingly dragged back into action who forged an unlikely friendship with his new partner. In this pilot, that transformation happens on fast-forward. After barely meeting a man who almost gets him killed on their first day together, Murtaugh has Riggs over for dinner and then lets him hold his newborn baby. Later, the supposedly nervous family man jumps a truck through a warehouse window to shoot down five heavily armed drug dealers. The show spends absolutely no time convincing us that he’s too old for this shit at all.
The Verdict: This show is undeniably bad, but calling it Lethal Weapon and trying to cast it as a reboot also makes it offensive. There is no sacred intellectual property in 2016, and Shane Black’s original film is not The Godfather, but Riggs and Murtaugh deserve better. The pilot dips its toes into PTSD, grief, suicide, and the cartels. It also has a few car chases, a handful of shootouts, a bank robbery, and more than a couple references to oral sex. It’s a bloated mess, and not even an entertaining one.
TL;DR: Don’t watch.
Justin Lubin/NBC
Each fall, most of the broadcast and cable networks debut a ton of new shows in the span of a few months, making it difficult to sort out which ones to make time for and which to skip. So we’re starting the WIRED Pilot Program, where we highlight what you should continue watching, and what you can just let sit on your DVR until it automatically deletes. Today’s entry: The Good Place
The Show: The Good Place (Mondays, NBC)
The Premise: Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) wakes up in an office across from Michael (Ted Danson), who informs her she just tragically died after getting hit by a truck. But not to worry, since she led such a noble, generous life, she ended up in the titular Good Place. Everyone lives with his or her soulmate in a house perfectly designed and decorated to fit the couple’s personality, there are tons of frozen yogurt places, and everyone can drink as much as they want without ever getting a hangover. There’s just one catch: Eleanor wasn’t a kind or generous person at all, and she’s been mistakenly allowed into The Good Place. Only her “soulmate” Chris (William Jackson Harper) knows the truth.
WIRED Pilot Program: The Good Place
6/10
Learn How We Rate
Wired
Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, LoLs
Tired
Unclear definition of the ‘Good Place’
NBC
How We Rate
1/10A complete failure in every way
2/10Sad, really
3/10Serious flaws; proceed with caution
4/10Downsides outweigh upsides
5/10Recommended with reservations
6/10Solid with some issues
7/10Very good, but not quite great
8/10Excellent, with room to kvetch
9/10Nearly flawless
10/10Metaphysical perfection
The Pilot Program Take: The Good Place features Bell’s return to broadcast television for the first time since her breakout on Veronica Mars on the CW and her Stepford-esque visage is put to good use here, looking smart while pointing out the elitist one-upmanship that runs rampant among the “best” people who made it to this cushy afterlife. Meanwhile, Danson’s Well-Meaning Rookie vibe works for Michael, the man responsible for designing the community Eleanor and Chris find themselves sorted into at the start of the show. He’s a n00b community designer who may have flubbed letting Eleanor into this version of heaven in the first place, and the tension of whether he finds out, if he has superiors that he needs to keep it a secret from, and what the fallout will be when the truth eventually gets out to everyone, will likely form the basis for a longer arc over the course of the season and beyond.
Once viewers get past the metaphysical concept, it’s a domestic sitcom along the lines of ABC’s short-lived but excellent Suburgatory. It just comes with a very specific vision of the afterlife that doesn’t conform to any one religious idea of heaven. Since the pilot doesn’t fully explain how the world works, it’ll have to get teased out over more episodes, and that’s the first big problem. The situational comedy—Eleanor pretending to be who everyone thinks she is while talking smack behind everyone’s back to Chris—has to share time with teasing out the logic of the show.
The Verdict: The pilot of The Good Place cuts off at an odd place, just as the questions begin