Peachy KEENE

Article first published as TV Review: KATY KEENE on Seat42F.

Note: The review only covers the pilot of the series.

The CW’s newest drama is KATY KEENE. A spin-off of Riverdale set in the Big Apple, it’s about a group of young adults looking to fulfill their career and relationship aspirations. Less highly stylized than the mothership, though still with a healthy dose of hyper-reality and charm, and carrying over one established supporting character, this show should be really good. And it probably would be if not for awful writing.

The fault lies not in the performances. Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars) is spunky, cheery, and thoroughly convincing as Katy Keene. Ashleigh Murray’s Josie McCoy feels like a second lead, which makes sense, given that she’s already been developed on Riverdale and should have a prominent role in the new venture. These two are strong enough to hang a show on.

The supporting characters are also delightful. Pepper Smith (Julia Chan, Saving Hope) is the worldly, wild woman with sage advice. Jorge / Ginger Lopez (Jonny Beauchamp, Penny Dreadful) is easy to root for. Francois (Nathan Lee Graham, LA to Vegas) has the early 00s gay best friend vibe now in a boss suit. Gloria Grandbilt (Katherine LaNasa, Truth Be Told) and Amanda (Helene Yorke, Masters of Sex) are deliciously awful villains. KO (Zane Holtz, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series) serves his role as eye candy and dutiful boyfriend, and Alexander Cabot (Lucien Laviscount, Snatch) seems like he’ll be a slightly better-developed version of that.

But those supporting characters get to the heart of the problem. Their characters revolve solely around the leads. They don’t seem to have their own lives and personalities separate from interacting with Josie and, primarily, Katy. They exist only to further her plot, and so the world feels a lot less realized than other shows on the air right now.

Similarly, KATY KEENE goes for emotional payoff over a story that makes sense. Katy rebels against a boss and immediately gets a dream job with encouragement to pursue her talents. Ginger gets to tell off a jerk casting director in a speech that, in different context, would feel arrogant and coming from spoiled brat, sure to get him blackballed before his career even begins. If Pepper is so worldly, why is she spending every evening hanging out with Katy? Amanda and Gloria are written to be self-obsessed, but we only see them doing so in ways to hurt our protagonist, and the way high school peers would, not adults.

There is plenty of room for a fairy tale on the airwaves, and you could definitely call KATY KEENE that. If it committed more fully to the hyperreality stylings of Riverdale or The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, it might even be easier to overlook how it thumbs its nose at reality because that would signal to the audience that what they’re watching is not in any way tied to the world we know. Yet, because KATY KEENE feels grounded in an actual place and time, it clashes with those sensibilities and instead feels half-finished at best, or cartoonish at worse. And the fact that so many of the characters are paper-thin is the final nail.

Might the series get better in subsequent installments? Absolutely. A bit of retooling, and this could be something worth watching. But the blatant bad-ness of the pilot turned me off in a major way to the point that I don’t even care enough to watch the second episode and see how the cliffhanger resolves. In a landscape with less quality programming, I’d give it more of a chance because it is spun off of a show I enjoy. But in the current climate, there’s just no room for a show that doesn’t know what it is, or can’t make up its mind.

KATY KEENE airs Thursdays at 8/7c on the CW.

GRAVES Humor

Article first published as GRAVES Review on Seat42F.

Premium movie service Epix joins the original scripted world this weekend with two new shows. One, a comedy, is called GRAVES, and is about a fictional former Republican president named Richard Graves. Twenty-five years after he served as the leader of the free world, Graves’ policies and decisions from the Oval Office come back to haunt him. Realizing he has let his country down, and facing a legacy as the possible worst president ever, Graves wakes up and decides to start fighting for the American people once more.

President Richard Graves is a conglomeration of a number of different Republican presidents. He held office around the same time as George H.W. Bush, considered failed at the time, though Bush’s reputation has improved in the interim, while Graves has gone down. He is a gold standard for certain members of his party, like H.W. has become, and like Reagan always has been. He also shares the failed assassination attempt backstory with Reagan. President Graves had the disastrous polices of George W. Bush, getting us into unpopular wars and slashing spending on important research, while ridiculously beefing up the military and tanking the economy. So he isn’t any one of these real POTUSes (POTUSi?), but rather, a bunch of them put together.

This is probably a wise move. It allows Graves to be fictional and make decisions without worrying about what the real men are and did, and also takes a realistic look at both the positives and negatives of GOP administrations over the past few decades. It’s an intriguing concept, especially when coupled with the desire to make up for past mistakes that Graves now exhibits, and I think Graves probably ends up being the ideal representative of the traditional Grand Old Party by the end of episode one.

The title role is wonderfully portrayed by Nick Nolte (Warrior, Luck, Gracepoint), who captures a layered, authentic man. Graves is a total asshole to those around him, hazing his new assistant, Isaiah Miller (Skylar Astin, Pitch Perfect, Ground Floor), ignoring the political aspirations of his wife, Margaret (Sela Ward, CSI: NY, Gone Girl), and destroying property that is only sort of his. But even in the pilot, Nolte is allowed a few moments to show the raw vulnerability, the compassionate side of the man, and exhibit that he does care about more than just himself, even when he lets down his loved ones. It’s a very interesting performance, and I liked it a lot.

To more fully flesh out the story, and also likely to add subplot drama, we are introduced to Graves’ daughter, Olivia (Helene Yorke, Masters of Sex), who shares many of her father’s negative qualities, and is going through something devastating herself. I really don’t know how Margaret will balance two break-downs at once while furthering her own agenda, but Olivia is more an obstacle than anything else right now.

Also in the cast are a number of enjoyable actors like Roger Bart (Episodes, The Producers), Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters), Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Tania Gunadi (Enlisted), Khotan Fernandez (Royal Pains, El Sexo Debil), Angelica Maria (Que bonito amor), Callie Hernandez (Alien: Covenant), and Chris Lowell (Veronica Mars) as the as-of-yet-unseen son of President Graves.

All of these actors and the promising story are enough to get past my early distaste. GRAVES makes the grave (pun intended) error of beginning with some real political cameos, chief among them that of Rudy Giuliani. True, Graves isn’t thrilled with these guys, but he treats Giuliani nicer than most, and after recent polarizing press appearances, seeing Giuliani in this comedy context is likely to turn off many potential viewers. Hopefully, most will chalk it up to a decision made some time ago and look past it, because the rest of the pilot was worth watching. There are others that appear, but none nearly as offensive as the former mayor.

GRAVES premieres tonight on Epix, and viewers can check out the first two episodes free now on Epix’s website.

MASTERS OF SEX "Manhigh" : Season Finale Review

Article first published as MASTERS OF SEX "Manhigh" : Season Finale Review on TheTVKing.

Showtime's excellent Masters of Sex completed its freshman run this week with "Manhigh." Bill Masters (Michael Sheen) prepares to present his findings of the past year of study to the hospital at large. Anticipation among the staff is high, and everyone eagerly packs the auditorium to hear Masters speak. But without Virginia Johnson (Lizzy Caplan) by his side, Masters overreaches and finds himself facing steep consequences.

Masters needs Virginia as much as any great partnership only works with both partners. He's brilliant, but bad at handling people. Virginia is smart, too, but her interpersonal skills are what balances him out so well. Masters would never have gotten as far as he did in his work without her to smooth his rough edges and communicate with their participants, calming anxieties. Now, her absence costs him dearly.

Masters realizes Virginia's importance, as evidenced by his inclusion of Virginia's name on the work product. He doesn't have to, with Virginia now working for Dr. DePaul (Julianne Nicholson) instead of him, but he does it out of appreciation for all that she has done. He isn't arrogant enough to minimize her contribution, and gives her the credit she has earned, even though she's a woman and women didn't get credit as freely at the time this story takes place.

Not that Masters is without assistance. His new helper, Jane (Helene Yorke), believes in him, as do cameraman Lester (Kevin Christy) and Bill's wife, Libby (Caitlin FitzGerald). But none of those three have Bill's ear or his professional respect the way that Virginia does. He likely appreciates them in some small way, but he doesn't consider them on the same level, and thus there is no one to tell him to temper himself.

Which is why the presentation is a disaster. Doctors and board members are shocked to see the inside of a vagina and the body of a woman masturbating, especially with women present in the room. They leave angrily, ignoring the statistics and invalidating Masters' work. In this instance, his data may be solid, but no one is going to pay attention to it because he screws up the initial conversation. He's his own worst enemy. Can he salvage anything from his efforts?

"Manhigh" ends with Bill standing on Virginia's door step in the rain telling Virginia that he needs her. This, more than her name on the work, leaves him bare and vulnerable, admitting something he didn't want to say out loud for the longest time. He swallows his pride and asks her to come back to him. This may be unhealthy, as he's missing the birth of his child, and he shows an obsession towards her with the use of footage of Virginia's body in the presentation. Knowing Bill is married and liking his wife, Virginia may be hesitant to return to the man who has few boundaries. But will she?

Virginia has a choice to make. She can stay in her home and work with Dr. DePaul and / or Masters. Or she can marry Ethan (Nicholas D'Agosto) and move away. This isn't as simple a decision as it may appear. Yes, Virginia loves her work, and with Dr. DePaul sick and Masters fired, both need extra help. But Ethan is really good to her kids, and they matter quite a bit to her, too, so she may want to put their needs ahead of hers.

Let's be honest, although "Manhigh" doesn't reveal Virginia's choice, she has to work with Bill. Otherwise, there's no show. Masters of Sex hinges on the relationship between the two of them, and as much as I enjoy the other characters, the rest are expendable. Thus, somehow, Bill and Virginia will end up working together again.

Besides this central plot, there are a lot of great supporting moments in "Manhigh." I love Barton's (Beau Bridges) struggle with his homosexuality, and his wife, Martha (Allison Janney), asking him not to undergo aversion therapy when she sees how bad it is. They are a couple I can't get enough of. I love Barton standing up for Masters, and Masters doing Barton a favor by saving the elder man's job. I love Lester and Jane's kiss. I love the masturbation conversation between Lester and Masters. I love seeing Libby hold her baby, someone that will surely bring her the joy her husband can't give her.

Masters of Sex is wonderful because of all of this. The two leads are fantastic, but the other players are terrific, too. The stories are well structured, with appropriate story for recurring parts without taking away from the whole, and layered, developed, authentic characters. There's commentary on the time and culture that doesn't feel preachy, and real questions that can't be quickly and easily answered are posed. It's definitely my new favorite Showtime series.

Masters of Sex has been renewed and will return next year to Showtime.