AMERICAN GOTHIC Prime Example of Summer TV in America

Article first published by AMERICAN GOTHIC Review on Seat42F.

Next up in the crappy-summer-shows roster is CBS’ AMERICAN GOTHIC. A soapy murder mystery, I understand why this series was held for burn-off during the hot months because it feels a lot like several other shows that premiered earlier in the year, were soon canceled, and I’ve mostly forgotten about (like The Family). Will this show find an audience and fare better? Probably not, so I wouldn’t blame you if you stop reading now and ignore its existence.

If you’re still reading, let’s talk a little bit about AMERICAN GOTHIC, though. It has a pleasant enough cast, which makes for many suspects, each with their own dark secrets (because no one in a world like this is ever who everyone thinks they are). By making a lot of them related, it’s supposed to be more shocking when things come to light, or harder for the characters to distrust one another, but it’s not because of the very familiar tone. There is a serial killer, but don’t even bother trying to figure out who it is at this stage because there will be a million red herrings and twists.

It’s not very satisfying to watch a show like this because it doesn’t feel like there’s a plan from the start. I could be wrong, and there’s no way to know that until the end of the season, but unlike in the best mysteries, that drop important clues early on, shows like these tend to concentrate more on doing the unexpected than crafting an intricate story. They try to go for the plot that comes out of nowhere, rather than something that naturally flows or was previously hinted at. It makes theorizing with your friends just not that great since no one really has any insight into what’s going to happen. It’s an all-too-common style that we can use less of on television, and the way the pilot plays out all but confirms that’s what AMERICAN GOTHIC is.

I realize I haven’t given you a lot of specifics about why I think the show is bad, but I really don’t want to ruin anything for those who are genuinely interested. Let’s just say there are things involving a cat, a box, and a hospital room that smack as gratuitous and have helped forge the opinion above.

As I mentioned before, the cast is good. With so many quality programs on the small screen these days, it’s not a surprise that even the lesser fare can attract talent. After all, it’s often hard to tell from just a script whether the series will be great or not. AMERICAN GOTHIC does have a solid ensemble, and they sell the material pretty much as convincingly as possible.

The central figure seems to be Alison Hawthorne-Price (Juliet Rylance, The Knick), a wife and mother running for mayor of her city. As the campaign unfolds, we meet the rest of the clan, brought in to help her win. There’s matriarch Madeline (Virginia Madsen, Sideways), former drug-using brother Cam (Justin Chatwin, Shameless), Cam’s disturbed son Jack (Gabriel Bateman, Stalker), elementary school teacher sister Tessa (Megan Ketch, Jane the Virgin), Tessa’s detective husband Brady (Elliot Knight, Once Upon a Time), and long-missing brother Garrett (Antony Starr, Banshee). There’s also a father to the group, who is not in the official cast list, so presumably not a main character, and Cam’s still-addicted ex, Sophie (Stephanie Leonidas, Defiance), soon pops back up.

It is a relatively large family, but again, that’s needed so we have a lot of suspects and a dozen episodes of secrets can come out. After all, a lot of different boxes are checked with the grouping above, no one having a boring life that won’t affect the proceedings, and no two crossing orbits too much. It’s a familiar formula that probably won’t work any better than it usually does.

AMERICAN GOTHIC premieres Wednesday, June 22 at 10/9c.

Banshee premiere review

Grade: 78%

CINEMAX premieres a new series this Friday, January 11th at 10 p.m. Entitled BANSHEE, the show sees a man (Antony Starr, Outrageous Fortune) get out of prison after fifteen years served for thievery. Hs tracks down his partner in crime to get his fair share from the robbery that put him behind bars, only to find that she has assumed a new identity as upstanding citizen Carrie Hopewell (Ivana Milicevic, Casiono Royale), has a family, and says that their take is long gone.

What’s a directionless guy to do in a situation like that? Drink, of course. But as he sits in Sugar Bates’ (Frankie Faison, The Wire) bar, he is drawn into a conflict that results in the death of the new sheriff. Since no one has yet seen this sheriff, and the mysterious protagonist has no where else to go, he assumes the identity of Lucas Hood, law man of the town of Banshee.

The first half of the pilot is exactly what one might expect from a Cinemax series. There is lots of action, gratuitous nudity, and gruesome injury. It’s the typical high-octane thriller, set on the small screen, rather than the big. For those tuning in just for this type of thing, the series will definitely deliver.

But as the episode plays out, BANSHEE begins to take on more of a Justified feel, a definite good thing. The man now known as Hood may be a criminal, but he has some type of moral code. He is good to Bates, and there isn’t any sense that he is a threat to Carrie. He sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong, but only to defend those who need defending.

The town on Banshee has plenty of problems for Hood to solve. It is practically run by the ruthless Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thomsen, Hitman), who owns a slaughterhouse, and is from an Amish family. He will be good to you if you do what he wants, and he does have affection for his father, who still lives by the old ways. But he’s not trustworthy, is a control-hungry, perverse S.O.B., and he certainly doesn’t have the public’s best interests at heart.

This sets up a typical hero story. Hood will try to clean out the corruption, while also dodging his past, which threatens to come back to haunt him. He has to deal with his new police department, especially senior office Brock (Matt Servitto, The Sopranos), who had expected to take over, and Hood has also awakened old feelings in Carrie, whose daughter, Deva (Ryann Shane, Lights Out), is probably his. So there’s a lot pulling the lead character in many directions, but we’re sure he will handle it all and do the right thing. He has to, right?

Unfortunately, this leaves a number of pilot holes. For instance, where did Hood get this sense of right and wrong? Are we expected to believe that his misdoings were in the Robin Hood vein, only stealing from those who deserve it? What would motivate a guy like that to get involved in the going-ons of a small town he knows nothing about? No good reason is given.

More importantly, how can our main character get away with becoming Lucas Hood? No one in Banshee may have met Hood yet, as he is hired remotely, but that doesn’t mean they’ve never seen him. Surely, any background check run would have included viewing pictures of the man? While the new Hood does have his friend Job (Hoon Lee, Premium Rush) work his magic on the web, isn’t this too little, too late? And how long before Hood’s family or friends come to check up on him, or google search Hood’s name to see the new face?

The cast is good. I have no complaints about any of them, who all seem fully invested, and sell their parts just fine. Starr is appropriately brooding, while Thomsen can send chills down one’s spine with the best of them. Sexy Milicevic, thankfully, actually seems like more than just eye candy, and Faison and Lee could be more than sidekicks, if the story ever calls for them to be, which it probably won’t.

Cast doesn’t matter as much, though, when it seems like BANSHEE is willing to put thrills ahead of story. That’s a shame, considering there are enough interesting elements here to build something on. That’s where it parts ways from Justified, which has the same sort of bad-boy protagonist and Western style, but relies more on believable twists that make sense and enriching back story, rather than excuses to shove steak sauce bottles into someone’s head. Maybe this is what Cinemax viewers want; the network is known for its action. But it’s not what a discerning TV viewer wants, and when it’s possible to have both, it’s a shame that the execution doesn’t quite cut it.

Want to read some of my fiction? It's on my website, JeromeWetzel.com! Also, for the latest updates and article links, as well as commentary on episodes I don't fully review, please follow me on Twitter!

Article first posted at Seat42F