There are few things Snark Ladies love more than starting new things and pilot episodes, so we’re bringing back our Fall TV Roundup. Join us as we taste-test and grade as many Fall pilots as we can.
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English Teacher on FX
Recapped: Brian Jordan Alvarez plays an idealistic and overwhelmed English teacher in the suburbs of Austin.
What Mari thinks: English Teacher fires off often sharp, sometimes clever, always timely jokes at a rapid clip, making its short episodes feel jam-packed and almost frenetic. It’s a style I think works well in this genre of comedy, but that isn’t one I gravitate towards. The show is best served by its supporting cast and willingness to make everyone the butt of the joke, from the Gen Z students who Evan thinks are “less woke” this year to the always charming Enrico “Papa Mars” Colantoni and the rest of the teachers. It’s worst served by the titular character, who just feels a little under-baked.
That all said, when the pilot ended, I just let all the rest of the episodes that have already aired keep playing. It’s a show I think could functionally get better with time as it finds its voice, cements its bits, and grounds its main character.
B.
What Sweeney thinks: I had seen a fair bit of discourse comparing this to Abbott Elementary before I ever tuned in and I get it, but I also think that’s a little like saying every crime drama is Law & Order. Like, sure, there are similarities, but also: a public school classroom is a space we’ve all interfaced with. and I’d actually rather we have 92 shows about teachers than cops, but maybe that’s just me. More than that, though, the tone of Abbott is central to its charm and appeal, so a darker, edgier Abbott is fundamentally Not Abbott. tl;dr I find this comparison to be a disservice to both shows.
I don’t have a ton to add to Mari’s review, except that I think the whole show is a little under-baked. I think focusing in on a title character was probably a move to differentiate from Abbott, which is a proper ensemble, but it felt like it wasn’t really sure if it wanted to go that route or not.
B.
Overall Grade: B
Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist on Peacock
Recapped: An eight-episode limited series based on “some shit that really happened” about a small-time hustler who gets roped into dealings with a mafia boss while party planning.
What Mari thinks: This cast is deep. Before deciding to do this fall TV roundup, I wasn’t very tuned into anything regarding this new TV season, so I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised going down the cast list. Having watched the pilot, I think the cast is still the best and most impressive thing about it. My biggest complaint is about pacing. It took so long to lay out all of the pieces and characters that, to me, felt pretty well explained in the opening scenes of the 55-minute pilot. My second biggest complaint is Dexter Darden as Muhammed Ali. In a series of big performances, Darden sometimes felt cartoonish. If I continue this one, it will definitely be on a weekly basis. I think I can drum up enough interest to dedicate an hour of watching at a time, especially for (did I mention?) that cast.
B-.
What Sweeney thinks: This cast is amazing. I had a similar complaint re: Darden in the beginning, and it reminded me of my least favorite parts of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which I recently started rewatching. Basically, any time the show introduced a real historical figure (save for Lenny Bruce, who is so thoroughly fictionalized as to feel like a creation of the show), it always felt a little like the show was winking at me in a way that was super irritating. Darden’s performance gave that vibe. In this case, it feels a little more deliberate — “Hello, I am The Guy, but I’m not really The Point”— and I enjoyed it more by the end of the first episode. My actual biggest complaint is deeply petty, and it’s that I really don’t care for Kevin Hart. As much as I loved the rest of this cast, I was always infinitely less happy when we returned to his plot. That said, I will almost certainly keep watching this, and I feel that my dislike for Kevin Hart is not the show’s fault.
B+.
Overall Grade: B
The Perfect Couple on Netflix
Recapped: A six-part limited series about a rich people wedding interrupted by murder.
What Mari thinks: I haven’t read the book that this adaptation is based on (nor anything by Elin Hilderbrand), but soapy detective drama about rich people? I’m unashamed to say this is the most “for me” pilot of this bunch, and I mean that sincerely, from Nicole Kidman’s wig to the dance sequence credits to the final scenes that made me tear up. The show signals early that it is ridiculous, both in its look at the lives of terribly rich people filtered through the lens of tired detectives and in its melodramatic approach to all of the genre tropes and trappings. Do I think everyone should watch this? No. Am I going to watch the whole thing? Hell yeah.
B.
What Sweeney thinks: Big soapy White Lotus-esque fun! I much prefer White Lotus and would sooner recommend that to anyone than this, but I did have a great time— up until the end of the very first episode, when I declared I would not watch the rest of it. Now that I have had time to recover and process, I realize that I was lying, and I will absolutely watch the whole thing. Also, I once again have to say, “Wow, this cast!”
B-.
Overall Grade: B?
How to Die Alone on Hulu
Recapped: A near-death experience inspires Natasha Rothwell to live a little.
What Mari thinks: If, on paper, The Perfect Couple was the show most likely to keep me watching, How to Die Alone is the sleeper hit. It managed to thread the needle of earnestness and exaggeration to create something sweet and funny. Unlike, say, English Teacher, I found the main character easy to root for and easy to love and by the time she ends the episode with a little light identity theft, honestly? I loved that for her.
A.
What Sweeney thinks: This show has, hands down, the character I am most rooting for across all the things we watched. Although I did not love her light identity theft simply because it felt like she was wasting it? Let your rich friend pay for you and do credit card fraud for something else! Work smarter, not harder! Anyway: I will watch every episode and have an absolute blast for a season or two before its inevitable early cancelation.
A.
Overall Grade: A
High Potential on ABC
Recapped: A woman with Sherlock-like ability is paired with a grumpy detective to solve crimes.
What Mari thinks: I feel like I’ve seen this show before. It honestly feels like the kind of show that I’d catch up on after its, like, 10-season run was over. I’d binge for 5 seasons until the Sherlock and Grumpy Detective finally kissed, and then I’d stop watching, never to finish. I hope that described this show as well as I think it did.
I found the beginning bits stronger than the bits where we were solving the case and found Grumpy Detective’s obligatory lines about “not touching anything and not saying anything” fell on the forced side. The cast has potential, and this is a tried and true premise, even if the pilot had some hollow notes.
C+
What Sweeney thinks: I watched these shows in this order, so my reaction is absolutely colored by it being nearly midnight and coming to the end of my frenetic binge. Disclaimer out of the way: in the first 5 minutes, I messaged Mari to say that this is clearly the dumbest/worst show on this list, and I can’t wait to watch 17 seasons of it. My least favorite part of the episode is the part where she explains why she is like this, which is actually the incorrect move. Your premise is stupid and we all know it, please don’t make me think about it! This show is just vibes! Let her fall out of a coconut tree, free from The Context!
Again, this show is Not Good, and I will watch every episode.
C+
Overall Grade: C+
Have you watched any of these? Let us know your grades for these pilots in the comments!
