Should You FEED THE BEAST?

Article first published as FEED THE BEAST Review on Seat42F.

I’m used to automatically loving pretty much any series that premieres on AMC. There are exceptions, Turn being one of them, but few, with the network definitely one of the top three for original content right now (along with HBO and FX). The newest offering, FEED THE BEAST, doesn’t equal the best of AMC, but it’s not a total dud.

The story of FEED THE BEAST revolves around two best friends. Tommy Moran (David Schwimmer, Friends, American Crime Story) is a single father who just cannot get past the loss of his wife, Rie (Christine Adams, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). What this means is he’s struggling to help his son, TJ (Elijah Jacob), who hasn’t spoken since witnessing his mother’s death, and Tommy, a sommelier by trade, has made wine his abusive crutch. His pal, Dion Patras (Jim Sturgess, 21, Across the Universe), is fresh out of jail after burning down a mobster’s restaurant. Said mobster, Patrick “The Tooth Fairy” Woijchik (Michael Gladis, Mad Men), is willing to give Dion a chance to make it up to him, providing Dion stays in town and starts paying.

And so, Dion convinces Tommy they should open the Greek restaurant they’ve always dreamed of, despite the fact that Tommy doesn’t want to do it without Rie. This is a second chance for them both, one that gets off on shaky footings and lies, but one they both need with a partner they, for better or worse, trust. And a threatening presence in the shadows wants them to succeed for his own reasons.

FEED THE BEAST is not exactly breaking new ground. How many series have we seen that a good-hearted criminal is blackmailed into doing something and lies to a friend to get help doing it? Even the extra complexities tossed in, Tommy having to approach his estranged father, Aidan (John Doman, Gotham, The Affair), for financial help, and a woman at grief counselling, Pilar (Lorenza Izzo, Knock Knock), clearly not being who she says she is, are tropes at this point. If you watch any amount of complex cable dramas, you’ve seen this before.

Yet, the acting and direction is good enough to overlook that, at least initially. The dark tone and messy dwelling full of expensive restaurant gear is cool. Schimmer knows how to play whiny and messed up, so he fits the character well. Sturgess does crazy with aplomb, and his druggie ex- and current con is nothing of not eccentric. Alone, they both excel.

Where it doesn’t hold up for me is how it all comes together. FEED THE BEAST has a lot of good elements, from its stars to the production design, but they don’t feel like a wholly authentic world when joined. Dion comes across as too crazy for Tommy to be so trusting of. Tommy comes across as too screwed up to still be functioning as well as he is, holding a job, even if it’s not the one he wants. The relationship between the two doesn’t feel realized, Tommy being happy to see Dion one minute and angrily accusing him of things the next. The chemistry between them just isn’t there.

So what we’re left with is a decent show with some really great elements that ends up being a little less full and cohesive than what I’m looking for. Some of this could just be early episode stumbling, but that sort of thing is a lot more common on the broadcast networks, that rush through a hectic schedule, than the cable dramas, which tend to take their time, so it’s harder to chalk it up to that. It’s good enough that I’d like to keep watching, but not good enough that I’m committing to the season. Yet.

FEED THE BEAST premiered last night, and settles into its normal slot Tuesday at 10/9c on AMC.

CBS Gets RECKLESS

Article first published as RECKLESS Review on Seat42F.

CBS has a new crime series, which premiered tonight, called RECKLESS. Masquerading as a typical cop or lawyer show, it’s a combination of both, mixed with a heavy dose of soapy drama. There are short-run cases, such as the one in the pilot, but there is also a bigger arc involving a departmental scandal which will likely play out over the course of the summer. Everyone has secrets, and the draw will be in wondering what twist will come next.

RECKLESS is not a high-quality show. You won’t find many of those on the broadcast networks, and certainly not during the summer. But it’s a smart move for CBS to move beyond standard procedurals and try something more salacious, a la ABC, especially during the warm months when many TVs are turned off. I do wonder why the network chose Sundays to air it, though, since that’s the night of the week with the most competition, and while RECKLESS is enjoyable, it’s doubtful it can compete with the likes of True Blood and Falling Skies.

On most shows these days, the police are the good guys. We might find a bad seed or two among the contingent, but rarely is there a widespread issue within the force, unless it’s a really meaty, intense drama, which this show is not. RECKLESS is different in that most of the boys in blue in Charleston are not on the up and up. Whether sleeping with fellow officers or covering up for their buddies that do, there is much to loathe in this unit, and little to admire.

The main thread kicks off when Lee Ann Marcus (Georgina Haig, Fringe) decides to break up with her boyfriend, fellow officer Terry McCandless (Shawn Hatosy, Southland). Terry isn’t happy about this and shares some of Lee Ann’s dirty photos and such, which were sent through departmental communications. Their boss, Holland Knox (Michael Gladis, Mad Men), fires Lee Ann, but only lightly reprimands Terry. Feeling discriminated against, Lee Ann seeks the representation of lawyer Jamie Sawyer (Anna Wood, Deception).

Jamie is the main woman we’re supposed to root for, but she’s not exactly pure. She thinks nothing of bending, or even outright breaking, the rules in order to win her case. She may have noble intentions, or so we’re left to assume, but that doesn’t mean she can’t get in trouble, and perhaps she should. Even when she is framed for a minor crime in this episode, one has to wonder if she’s just serving time for something else she did but didn’t get caught.

There is room for some debate over RECKLESS’s portrayal of women. Lee Ann steps across the line of her own free will, and her punishment is justified. The problem at hand is that the rules are not applied equally across the board. The good ol’ boys of the south stick together and feel above the law. So in a situation where no one has done right, can we blame one party more than the other? Yes, but not completely, making it hard to really care about too many of the players.

Of course, besides all the legal and cop stuff, there’s plenty of room for romance. Jamie smolders whenever she encounters city attorney Roy Rayder (Cam Gigandet, The O.C.), but she also has regular hookups with Preston Cruz (Adam Rodriguez, CSI: Miami), who dons the uniform. Jamie can’t help but shit where she eats, like most TV characters, and so causes much of her own trouble.

If you’re looking for a sexy guilty pleasure show that’s entertaining but doesn’t make you think too hard, RECKLESS should fit that bill fine. That it’s a notch or two better than CBS’s regular season fare, The Good Wife excepted, may surprise and impress, but it still runs behind its cable counterparts.

RECKLESS airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.