Recaps/Reviews

NBC’s Timeless is a playfully fun B-movie television show that provides a nice counterpoint to the heavier Fall TV dramas

Things move very quickly in Timeless, NBC’s new time-hopping drama. It wastes no time getting its characters into period garb and throwing around modern references in the 1930’s. In short, Timeless wants to be a fun, jaunty good time, and it pretty much delivers.

The plots of time travel sagas start with a simple concept but, of course, the details make everything much more complicated. In this show, a trio of specialists are brought together to stop a madman from re-writing history. Abigail Spencer plays Lucy Preston, a history teacher with a very sick mother at home. She’s joined by Wyatt Logan (Matt Lanter), a soldier with a dead wife sob story, and Rufus (Malcolm Barrett), a scientist. Hey, if all this time travel doesn’t work out, the three of them can start a band: Please welcome to the stage, Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus! The instructions from the government aren’t really that detailed: “Jump in this prototype time machine and stop this crazy dude from ruining, you know, everything!” I’ve taken more time reading the instructions on the back of a bag of Pop Secret, but at least Timeless gets us to the action ASAP.

Garcia Fynn, the mysterious criminal, is played by Goran Visjnic, and the last time I watched him in a television show, he had no chemistry with Halle Berry. Trust me, I want these three to stop him as much as Homeland Security does. He steals the time traveling mothership (which looks a lot like a ping pong eyeball with flashing Tron pinstripes), and heads back to 1937–just in time to watch the Hindenburg crash and burn.

Perhaps focusing on one major time travel would make it seem less like the characters are going to be spending a lot of time in a Spirit Halloween store (next week’s promo shows the Lincoln assassination), and I really hope that Rufus’ main contribution isn’t going to be distracting the racist townspeople because he’s black and Lucy and Wyatt do more major stuff. Spencer is charming and eager, and Lanter is sure to have his admirers thanks to his brooding five o’clock shadow. (Sweet merciful network gods don’t force them to be a couple. Just let them be two professional people trying to save the world!) Barrett might be the best character since he’s the one who genuinely voices how crazy this all is.

Timeless is playful in a corny, B-movie way, and it’s a nice distraction from a lot of heavier realistic dramas that have debuted this season. It’s the one show I’ve seen so far this season that wants to entertain you, and it succeeds. It’s loose and quick and mostly concerns itself with delivering a good time.

HBO’s Westworld is a visually and thematically stunning piece of entertainment

Don’t let anyone tell you that HBO’s latest mega-series Westworld is just a pretty picture. Sure, it offers stunning vistas and beautifully rendered locales and exquisite costumes. From the opening five minutes, the show immediately feels like one of those properties where every penny spent shows onscreen. But look only skin deep at the richness of Westworld, and that’s all you’ll get. Look closer, and you’ll see that Westworld offers much, much more beneath its slick surface.

A reimagining of the Michael Crichton-directed 1973 film of the same name, Westworld comes to HBO from the husband-wife team of Jonathan Nolan (Christopher’s brother) and Lisa Joy. Here, rather than focus on the film’s robots-gone-bad plot line, Nolan and Joy offer up a complex story filled with so many details and ideas that it’s hard to take in on a single viewing. The basic plot is this: this “Westworld” is effectively a theme park for the wealthy populated by “hosts” who tailor your experience within to your tastes. Want to hunt an outlaw? Check with the sheriff. Want the company of a beautiful lady? There’s a saloon for that with prices by the door. Want to shoot and slice the throats of random passersby? Stab away. No one will stop you now that you’ve paid your way.

To say much more about the story would detract from the experience.

Westworld is something to discover. Something to let flow over you with its rich visuals and even richer ideas. The cast takes you on a journey that considers not only what makes us human but also what it means to be human in the first place. There’s a heavy dash of the Frankenstein myth. There’s the whole concept of free will versus determination at play too. This mind-boggling array of themes comes wrapped in a gorgeous, best-money-can-buy package too led by a star-studded cast whose overall performances are rivaled only by HBO’s own Game of Thrones on this epic scale. My personal favorites thus far are Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, and Sir Anthony Hopkins (natch). Wood and Newton, in particular, are revelations as they negotiate the horror of being robots suddenly infused with memories of just how bad people can be.

But don’t let me spoil it for you. Discover Westworld all on your own. It’s worth the price of admission.

Westworld premieres Sunday night at 9pm ET on HBO.

Luke Cage, Netflix’s latest Marvel adaptation, succeeds by rising above its comic book roots

Luke Cage, the latest Netflix/Marvel streaming series, wins on two fronts. First, it offers an engaging and realistic vision of what amounts to be a comic book superhero. Even in the origin episode, nothing feels overtly ridiculous or improbable… to an extent, of course. This is a super hero series after all. Above that, Luke Cage boasts a fascinating portrait of black culture consolidated within a compelling vision of Harlem. It’s a subtle, intriguing, and unexpected celebration of decades of black history. For that, Luke Cage feels deeper and richer than its Netflix/Marvel predecessors and, as a result, compellingly binge-worthy.

Developed by Cheo Hodari Coker (Southland), Luke Cage picks up sometime after the events of Jessica Jones and Daredevil Season 2. Cage (Mike Colter, all steely exterior with currents of gentleness running beneath) works two jobs and keeps a low profile. He sweeps up hair at Pops’s (Frankie Faison) local barbershop, the “Switzerland” of Harlem. He also washes dishes at Harlem’s Paradise nightclub, owned by Cornell “Cottonmouth” Stokes (Mahershala Ali of House of Cards fame). The initial proceedings take on a leisurely pace as we acclimate into the world Coker and team carefully constructed. Things start moving into a higher gear once the underhanded political dealings of Stokes and cousin Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard) cause conflict within this near-hermetically sealed Harlem world. That brings in detective Misty Knight (Simone Missick) to investigate some criminal activity and the mysterious Mr. Cage.

The series feels constructed to resemble less a standard Marvel property and more a Harlem-centric take on The Wire. You get equal amounts super hero head busting and complex political discourse, which makes the property sail for a viewer like me. I learned more about black culture from the casual name-dropping in this show than I ever did in formal education. And that’s a great thing. Luke Cage has a confident, easy-going feel about it, meaning that it always feels assured of where’s it taking the series in between the head-smacking.

The acting is also strong across the board. Colter isn’t a “great actor” in the role, but he brings an intensity to the role that oscillates between scary and sweet with equal measure. My favorites are Ali and Woodard in the villainous roles. On House of Cards, Ali never received much opportunity to move beyond the cool and collected exterior of his character. Here, though, he erupts into volcanic furies that feel genuinely frightening. This role serves as something of a breakout role for Alfre Woodard, funny given her decades in the industry. She’s never been this bad, and I would argue that her initial shadings of guilt coupled with later plot twists make this one of her greatest performances to date. Emmy should pay close attention.

Luke Cage was a great surprise to me as I wasn’t completely sure I wanted 13 episodes of a Jessica Jones supporting character. The choice to push the material beyond its more straightforward superhero roots and embrace the original comic’s social commentary was a brilliant one. It may not be everyone’s favorite. For me, Luke Cage is more than a worthy addition to the Netflix/Marvel canon. It may prove to be the best one yet.

Luke Cage premieres Friday, September 30, on Netflix.

AwardsDaily TV takes a brief look at some high profile 2016 Fall TV shows

Now that Emmy season is over, it’s time to immediate dive into the 2016 Fall TV season. This year, it feels especially packed with new shows, so it’s hard to keep up with everything. Networks and streaming platforms are debuting their their new content in the next few weeks, so, believe me, there’s so much to check out.

What makes the grade so far this season? What will we quickly delete from our DVR? Here’s a list of shows we’ve checked out in the last few weeks.

Designated Survivor

Everything you need to know about Designated Survivor you already know. This project is the latest in a series of high-concept series that run the risk of burning too bright too fast after a literally explosive pilot episode. Like Quantico before it, Designated Survivor offers up an admittedly gripping central premise – the U.S. Capitol explodes during a State of the Union address. What, I suspect, will ultimately save this show from burn out is its accomplished central performance by Kiefer Sutherland. He plays the titular designated survivor, the one cabinet member held back in case of said catastrophic event, as a timid but well meaning politician. He’s the kind of guy whose Buddy Holly glasses may be geek chic but not “presidential.” The pilot works well enough, but I’m frankly a little dubious (aside from Sutherland’s performance) as to how long the series can sustain momentum beyond the central “whodunnit” plot. – Clarence Moye

Easy

Every relationship is different and features different dynamics, so it’s fitting that Joe Swanberg’s new comedy, Easy, is a series of different stories. Featuring a large and famous cast, the show is accessible and very funny. It reminds us that a lot of romances go hand in hand with comedy. The first chapter stars Elizabeth Reaser and Michael Chernus as a married couple who’ve been with each other since college. They struggle to navigate their sex life while balancing family and work. In the second episode, a tryst between a lesbian couple leads to unexpected conversations about veganism. Other episodes include Malin Akerman, Orlando Bloom and Dave Franco. This isn’t unchartered territory, but both the writing and performances feel honest and genuine. – Joey Moser

The Good Place

Everything about The Good Place appealed to me. Kristen Bell? Check. A heavenly setting. Literally. Check. The promos reminded me of a pseudo-Pushing Daisies—a comedy set in a realm where a lot of fantastic stuff could happen with a lot of colorful characters. So why does The Good Place bore me so much? Is it because Bell can’t really shake her good girl image to play a bitch who was killed by an erectile dysfunction truck ad (one of the best jokes from the pilot)? As a woman who is re-routed to the wrong afterlife, Bell’s Eleanor tries to identify as a good person in order to avoid getting sent to hell (or the hell equivalent on network television). It has a lot of potential, so maybe the first episodes were just a misstep? – Megan McLachlan

Speechless

Speechless would be nothing without the comic timing of star Minnie Driver. She’s so great in her frank delivery of this insanely ADD mother that you literally can’t imagine the sitcom without her. Driver plays Maya DiMeo, the matriarch of a complex family unit who basically moves around a lot. What complicates matters is that DiMeo has a teenage son with cerebal palsy, so the pattern instability is perhaps not the best choice for the family unit. Driver sells the material completely, though, and pulls the audience along as hilarity ensues. The rest of the family unit hasn’t quite fallen into place yet, but that’s ok. Speechless fits in nicely with ABC’s current stable of family sitcoms that ask audiences to look at family units quite different from their own. It’s good enough for a few more looks. – Clarence Moye

This is Us

In the tradition of Parenthood, This is Us caters to the NBC audience that’s into “Cry Porn.” (Note: “Cry Porn” is a show that causes your Facebook feed to blow up with “I’m not crying—you’re crying” and “sobbing uncontrollably” every Tuesday night.)  However, given the show’s big twist, This is Us might work better as a stand-alone short film than an episodic show, as the preview for the second episode looks more like a Victory Lap rather than taking us into any new territory from the first episode. It’s sappy, sweet, and doesn’t appear to be very plot driven, and if that’s what you’re looking for, then pass the tissues. – Megan McLachlan

Notorious

Remember the old saying “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?” I’m not sure that is the case with the ABC news drama Notorious since it can’t hold a candle to the Shondaland dramas that surround it. Sure the marriage between the law and the media is probably a complicated one, but the show proves that sometimes salacious material should be left to the professionals. If you are yearning to see hot people walk quickly down hallways, this is the show for you. If you are wanting to see Piper Perabo do her best The Catch-like smirking, tune into ABC on Thursdays. There are two deaths in the pilot and a small discovery about an escort agency. And that’s not even part of the central plot. Sure, Perabo and Daniel Sunjata have chemistry that could potentially go somewhere, but it’s the most manufactured and unbelievable “will they or won’t they” I’ve seen in a long time. Notorious fits the Shondaland landscape (hot bodies, sexual tension, twists aplenty, etc.), but it doesn’t earn its slot, because it’s just a knock off. If it decides it wants to have an identity of its own, it could succeed in earning the attention it so desperately wants. – Joey Moser

How does HTGAWM rebuild after a chaotic Season 2? Joey Moser has the answer.

It’s not unknown that I was a fan of the first season of ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder. It was the drama I most looked forward to every week, and every twist and turn led it to become a hot media sensation. The second season didn’t necessarily misstep as much as it fell down the stairs. There were so many plots going on at one time that it was hard for even the most murderous and attentive law student to keep up. So what does that mean for Season 3? The end of HTGAWM‘s second season delivered some shocks, so the majority of the newest hour lets the waters calm… You know, before pushing the audience over a cliff to see who dies at the end of the year.

Despite finding out that Frank is responsible for the death of Annalise’s baby and Wes seeing his biological father get shot right in front of him at the end of the sophomore season, the first episode of the third season is relatively calm…in the beginning.

The premiere should just be titled “How I Spend My Summer Vacation Away From All the Murder” because it shows the Keating 5 actually trying to enjoy their summer vacation. Annalise even gets to pop in and out of everyone’s flashbacks because they literally can’t escape her. I wonder if any of the other law professors feel slighted that no students hang out with them. Laurel is spending her time in Mexico with her mom to try and forget that Frank left without a trace. Wes has a new girlfriend, but he hasn’t introduced her to the group (who could blame that poor long-necked bastard). Annalise helps Michaela out of a drunk driving ticket and it’s not clear whether she was drunk because of all the bloody mayhem or because she feels icky for sleeping with Asher. Can we have a show of hands for officially calling them Masher, by the way?

Since everyone is too busy covering up murders and not studying, Annalise’s brood fell into the bottom 10th percentile leading the school to rearrange her teaching schedule. She won’t be purring the title of the show to a new group of fresh-faced students any time soon. Annalise has always been a very respected professor, and it doesn’t help that someone is hanging up fliers with her face on them emblazoned with the word KILLER (“At least they picked a good photo,” she tells everyone).

Is the start of the third season enough to bring stragglers back into the HTGAWM fray? While this episode focuses on the group putting the pieces back together, it does feature some Shondaland goodies. Frank shaves his beard and head off to prove that he is ridiculously good looking without a hair on his head, and Asher and Michaela continue their torrid trysts. It also doesn’t hurt that Billy Brown (who plays Viola Davis’ beau, Nate) does most of his scenes shirtless. There are, of course, the final few moments that make you go crazy. Spoilers abound.

HTGAWM is known for twisting the knife, and this was no exception. We flash forward to Annalise watching a body bag being rolled out of her house, and then she turns to see her house engulfed in flames as she screams into the night. The promos promise us that someone will die, and every episode will declare a different person safe each week. Perhaps this type of central mystery will calm the show’s ADD. Annalise’s reaction to whoever was in the body bag hints that it could be Nate or Wes, but my money is on Oliver. They spend a lot of time in this premiere talking about how he’s getting closer to the core of the group, and Annalise essentially doesn’t want to ruin him. Will getting closer lead to this good guy’s demise? You can never be too sure with HTGAWM.

Pamela Adlon learns from her collaboration with Louis C.K. and delivers a great Better Things

Better Things is quick and scrappy. Star Pamela Adlon (Louie, Grease 2) created the show with Louie collaborator Louis C.K., and her new show is obviously influenced (in a good way) by her work with the veteran comedian. There is something very thoughtful and hilarious about Better Things that shines through. It’s immediate proof that some of the best comedy comes from the absurdities of real life.

Adlon plays Sam, an actress who is juggling acting gigs with the hardest job of all: being the single mother of three girls. During a callback, another actress asks her if she’s dating anyone at the moment, Sam vehemently denies it, and says, “I’m dating my daughters. They’re my love life.” Sam’s seemingly nonexistent love life is clearly going to be a constant theme in Better Things.

The only other regular characters that we are introduced to in the too-short premiere are Sam’s daughters, and the drastically different dynamics she has with each one is one of the strongest things about the first episode. Max is giving Sam the most trouble at home. She asks her mother if she could get her pot because Max thinks her mother would actually appreciate being in control of her daughter’s drug curiosity. Her youngest, Frankie, is curious about her body, but Duke, the youngest, is still very much in love with her mommy.

The episodes are short, and they feel like comedy morsels. You just want more. Talking about the plot much would really spoil it, but what you need to know is that Better Things makes a strong debut by not telling us everything. The sidelines are very loaded with humor, and Adlon is screamingly good and grounded as Sam. She’s been on the periphery for a long time (you’ve heard her voice a million times surely), and this is a chance for her to come front and center.

Better Things airs Thursdays on FX at 10pm ET.

Ryan Murphy returns with a stripped-down and effective American Horror Story 6

In a way, tonight’s premiere of American Horror Story 6 felt like the premiere of a brand new series. Take away the famous faces, and the hour felt nothing like a standard episode of the Emmy-winning horror anthology series. That’s probably the best news for audiences and Emmy voters who largely treated Hotel like a red-headed stepchild. That season and most before it equated exquisite costuming and gorgeous production designs with gore and sex. Most episodes dazzled thanks to their visual style, but even fans would agree that, sometimes, it just didn’t add up. True scares often felt like an afterthought, a shame for a horror series.

Enter American Horror Story 6.

The new season immediately plunges the audience in a David Lynchian world where different actors play the same characters (Lynch’s daughter, Jennifer, reportedly directs “Chapter 3,” according to Wikipedia). In a more literal sense, Lily Rabe (AHS 1-5) and Andre Holland (The Knick) narrate the pilot as a docudrama apparently called “My Roanoke Nightmare.” That may or may not be the actual subtitle of the series, but nothing here is certain. The docudrama depicts their fleeing of Los Angeles and eventual purchase of an abandoned house near the coast of North Carolina. Sarah Paulson and Cuba Gooding, Jr., star as the couple within the re-creation.

Despite shifting in and out of the narrative with voice-over work, the central story begins to settle into a blend of home invasions with a heavy dose of old fashioned haunted house. Paulson begins to encounter possibly supernatural events that escalate by the end of the episode, which takes on a very specific Blair Witch sheen. The new season boasts a stripped down look and feel, and, while the production design is still effective, most of the scarier scenes are lit with dim candlelight.

I’m going to hold judgment on the series until I’ve seen more of it. Did I like the pilot? Yes. It’s an intense hour with at least three great jump-out-of-your seat moments. Additionally, the cast works wonders with the traditional haunted house material. I, for one, am thrilled to see Angela Bassett get a really meaty role at the start. However, there is this shrill, nagging voice in the back of my head telling me the docudrama-style narration is intrusive and works against the tense atmosphere, but the jury’s out on that. Clearly, Murphy wants to push American Horror Story into a The Jinx or Making a Murderer direction by relying on similar filmmaking techniques. I’m just not sure how effective that would be over an entire season.

But for now, I’m fully on board with American Horror Story 6. I appreciate the stripped down, back-to-basics approach that make this season feel more like Murder House. And, for the first time in a while, the series holds a certain sense of mystique about it, something sorely lacking in recent years. It has an unknown quality where we can’t immediately imagine what to expect over subsequent episodes. Two of my ADTV colleagues posited each episode of the season would be different from the last, and, after the pilot, that’s a very smart possibility.

Overall, this appears to be a leaner, meaner American Horror Story. One that plays a little harder to get on the first date rather than the full spread-eagle approach of past seasons. Has Ryan Murphy finally learned a sense of discipline and constraint? That would be the biggest shock of all. Time will tell…

Donald Glover’s semi-autobiographical Atlanta shows huge promise as a thoughtful comic drama

What are the steps you take in order to get people to take your seriously? How do you make people perceive you as a serious person? These are the questions FX’s new Atlanta tackles.

Donald Glover’s Atlanta succeeds by not conforming to one genre. The trailers and commercials indicate this is a show about soul searching and coming into your own, but Glover manages to slide back and forth between comedy and drama with the effortlessness of a more accomplished show creator. Glover has always had a charming and relaxed nature in his standup, but here he does something really different.

Stuck in a dead end job with no real prospects, Glover’s Earn is trying to convince his cousin Alfred (AKA “Paper Boi”) to let him manage his rap career. Earn’s parents, played by Isiah Whitlock Jr. and Myra Lucretia Taylor, won’t even let Earn back in their house (“I can’t afford it,” his father tells him) even though they watch his daughter from time to time. When faced with the notion that he might become quite seriously homeless, Earn manages to get Paper Boi’s song on the radio, but there is a violent confrontation between Earn and Paper Boi with a guy in a parking lot.

The pilot of Atlanta is much lighter than the second episode. Earn has a great bedside chemistry with his girlfriend Vanessa (Zazie Beetz). If there was a short spin off that dealt with the two of them waking up every morning together, I’d definitely tune in.

At the top of the second episode, Paper Boi and his buddy Darius (a seriously funny stoned presence in Keith Stanfield) make bail, but Earn is stuck in prison because he isn’t in the system yet. Paper Boi starts to get recognized on the street by random people and even a guard at the prison takes a picture with him. Meanwhile, Earn witnesses some police brutality against an obviously mental inmate and a short transphobia incident occurs. This episode showcases what Glover might explore in future episodes. Sure, he could make a small show about a wayward guy trying to find his way, but this indicates that larger themes are definitely on the table.

It would not be surprising if Atlanta draws comparisons to Netflix’s Master of None simply because both were created by popular comedians and both shows are autobiographical to a degree. While Master does seem brighter, one is not better than the other. Atlanta is more in touch with presenting a real look at a community, but it’s infused with laughter and lightness. It’s one of the best debuts of the year so far.

Atlanta airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET on FX.

Cinemax’s latest prestige drama Quarry emerges as its greatest achievement yet

The Southern crime drama Quarry isn’t the kind of television series which viewers should judge based solely on the pilot. Several shows have promising starts but fade into obscurity with illogical plot twists and drawn-out storylines. Cinemax’s Quarry is kind of the opposite of all that. It establishes its basic premise efficiently in the pilot and then veers in complicated and engrossing directions. As a result, Quarry grows into the most promising new drama I’ve seen this year. It’s certainly the best thing Cinemax has ever produced.

The series kicks off in 1972 as title character Mac “Quarry” Conway (Logan Marshall-Green) returns home from a controversial stint in the Vietnam War, and the decision to establish the series during the high-tension early 1970s feels entirely justified. The circumstances of Quarry’s return to America become underscored by such major events as the Nixon-McGovern presidential election and the 1972 Munich Olympic massacres. Writers Graham Gordy and Michael D. Fuller give the proceedings a painstakingly researched feel, and that sense of history helps amplify the on-screen drama.

Quarry returns with his best friend easily drawn into the quick-cash world of murder for hire and with a wife desperate to find a connection to her husband. These two circumstances initiate a series of event that, through the five episodes I’ve seen, pay off in brilliant ways. The world building of the pilot gives way to deep, emotionally resonant scenes between Quarry and wife Joni (Jodi Balfour). It also puts Quarry directly into the entangling alliances of a crime world from which he cannot seem to break free. Or does he even want to break free? The story unfolds gradually and efficiently, taking time to blend its action scenes with those of quiet reflection. Quarry is, among many things, an effective character drama that wonderfully explores the lives of those living through the social turmoil of the 1970s.

Marshall-Green gives a deceptively reserved performance as Quarry. To some, he may appear bland and unworthy of being the center of the action, but his Quarry is all anger and resentment bubbling beneath a smooth surface. Jodi Balfour’s turn as “the wife” is hardly just that as she gives a complex portrayal of a lonely woman. There are scenes of shocking brutality involving Joni later in the season, but they never feel superfluous. There is graphic violence here, but it all serves a purpose. It informs the narrative and shades the main characters in intriguing ways. Perhaps the biggest scene-stealer, though, is Damon Herriman as hit man Buddy whose deep relationship with mother Naomi (Ann Dowd) warrants serious consideration as a spin-off series. Herriman’s Buddy is a tricky character to portray, but the actor never once launches into gross stereotype. Buddy feels as incredibly authentic as his surroundings, and Herriman runs with the role in a way that could result in awards attention should the series take off as it should.

Thanks to director Greg Yaitanes’s strong directorial approach, Quarry pleasantly surprises in multiple ways. It isn’t overly concerned with rushing through the material and often stops the action to allow characters room to breathe. The script often, at times, feels near play-like in its thoughtful musings on 1972. Yes, there’s quite a bit of hypnotic action from which you can’t turn away, but it’s supported in the best way possible by a cast of actors who embody real world characters. Quarry as a dramatic action series demands patience as it gradually unveils its secrets, and you should indulge its deliberate pacing. The rewards ware completely worth it.

Quarry premieres tonight at 10pm ET on Cinemax. 

Jill Soloway’s newest Amazon show definitely has an eye-grabbing title: I Love Dick. Surely, there are a lot of critics and bloggers out there trying to think of the wittiest titles and jokes to accommodate their reviews. After you watch Soloway’s new offering, however, you probably won’t be capable of cracking anything other than your curiosity. I Love Dick is easily the best pilot that Amazon has released so far this year. It’s amusing, absurd, and, best of all, allows Kathryn Hahn to take center stage.

Hahn plays Chris, a filmmaker whose latest film was rejected by the Venice Film Festival over a dispute with a piece of music in her latest project. Her husband, Sylvere (Griffin Dunne), is traveling to Malfa, Texas for a residency so he can “reinterpret the Holocaust.” At a party, Sylvere tells a young girl, “something new is afoot.” Their marriage is in a dry spell, and the sandy atmosphere of Texas probably won’t help matters.

Sylvere’s residency is headed by Dick (played by Kevin Bacon with a lot of relaxed swagger), and the first time we see him, he’s literally riding a horse in the small town. He “parks” it as the sun gleams in the background, and it’s obvious that Chris is intrigued and attracted to him.

The first notion that I Love Dick should be taken seriously is when Chris explains her work situation over a friendly dinner. Dick asks Sylvere if Chris’ movie is any good. He asks him in an exclusive, boys’ club kind of way—as if she wasn’t sitting there. He then counters Chris’ shock with:  “Maybe this supposed graveyard of unmade films by women filmmakers is there because, ultimately, most films made by women aren’t that good.” This exact moment must have been uttered to many women in the film industry without anyone batting an eye.

The reason that Hahn is such a good actress is because she can convey a million emotions all at once. Of course, she’s shocked by the comments that this relative stranger has made to her, but she’s also determined to prove him wrong and a bit turned on at the same time. Chris retreats to a restroom to collect herself privately, and we get to thank our lucky stars that this actress is the lead of a potentially new lineup of episodes.

The first episode is directed by Soloway, and her Transparent does a great job of questioning identity and self assuredness. Each segment of this episode is prefaced with a statement of a letter written from Chris to Dick (“It’s about missing you even though I’ve never met you.”) The only other details we are given about future episodes is that Sylvere will also fall for Dick. Bacon is magnetic and quiet, but it’s easy to see why people are so drawn to him.

Sorry, The Interetings. You’re not going to get greenlit when Soloway can make thoughtful comedies like this.