Is it still a golden age of television? We'll leave that for the critics to decide,
but one thing we do know is that there's some
tarnish on that shine. These shows that premiered in 2022 prove it.
There's no shortage of crime dramas on television, so "The Endgame" already faced an uphill struggle
to establish itself. Created by former "Prison Break" and "Law & Order" writer Nicholas Wootton
and "Arrow" producer Jake Coburn, the series saw a thief named Elena Federova pull off a series of
audacious heists around the country while FBI Special Agent Val Turner tried to stop her.
The consensus among critics was almost universally bad. Many complained about
the unrealistic way that the criminal mastermind escaped from every situation,
a common enough occurrence that Variety's Caroline Framke grew bored of it after just two episodes.
"I have a little story to tell you. A fairy tale."
The Hollywood Reporter suggested that there was little substance to the series,
and the performances of the normally reliable main cast were disappointing. Ultimately,
"The Endgame" did nothing to justify its own existence,
and there was little surprise when NBC canceled it after a single season.
Reality TV keeps getting weirder. It almost has to, because there's so much competition
for eyeballs. But "Adults Adopting Adults" is a strange concept even through that lens. A group
of fully grown men and women attempt to get other adults to legally adopt them. This is problematic
for a number of reasons, especially because, as The Guardian explains, adult adoption is a
logistically and emotionally complex process that varies greatly depending on location.
The A&E series almost immediately attracted criticism. One of the show's most controversial
figures was Danny Huff, who tried to adopt a young woman from Austria. This prompted
allegations that he was human trafficking the potential adoptee, especially when it was made
clear that he had developed romantic feelings for another 18-year-old under similar circumstances.
Originally scheduled for 10 episodes in total, only three aired before the
show was pulled. The Daily Beast called it "a bonkers and creepy reality show."
"The Calling" follows police detective Avraham Avraham as he puts his faith to
good use while solving crimes in New York City. All eight episodes of the first season were made
available on Peacock in November. It earned a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of just 25%.
"The Calling" does little to add anything to the police procedural genre. The religious angle feels
tacked on, and it wastes its opportunity to explore deeper philosophical themes.
"The Talmud teaches us to see a single human being as the whole world."
RogerEbert.com says Detective Avraham's spiritual musings really don't mean
much. The series ended up leaving most reviewers, such as those at Slant Magazine,
feeling as if it had failed to capitalize on an interesting premise.
"The Time Traveler's Wife" came with a good pedigree. It was created by Steven Moffat,
the man behind "Sherlock" and several seasons of "Doctor Who." It also stars
"Game of Thrones" alumna Rose Leslie and "White Lotus" star Theo James as
a couple who have to deal with James unexpectedly traveling through time,
meaning that they meet out of sequence. So viewers approached it with high expectations.
The series, based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger,
attempts to address some high-concept philosophical questions about free will
and control. But critics said it largely fails to examine those ideas in an effective way,
and its plotlines become confusing far too quickly. TV Insider quipped,
"If only time travel were real, they could use it to go back and do it right."
The Hollywood Reporter, meanwhile,
criticized the lack of chemistry between the two leads as well as the constantly changing tone.
"Fairview" is an animated sitcom from the creative minds of R.J. Fried and
Stephen Colbert. It hit Comedy Central in early 2022. What was meant to be a
satirical look at small-town drama and politics in America turned into
a complete disaster — made worse by the fact that Colbert's involvement had given people some hope.
Almost certainly meant to appeal to the same crowd that watches "South Park," this show is
little more than a rip-off of the crudely drawn cartoon. But the show's biggest sin
is that it just isn't funny. The Daily Beast confirmed that there is really only one joke in
"Fairview," about idiots who don't care about their own safety. Critic Nick Schager wrote,
"It's replayed with a particularly off-putting brand of brash, cheery screechiness."
"What do you say, Kelly? Ready to throw the most banging,
negligent homicide this town's ever seen?"
The series failed to capture the hearts and minds of audiences. TV
Series Finale noted its consistently low ratings throughout its eight-episode run.
Those few viewers who did watch were unimpressed;
"Fairview" has remarkably low approval scores from users on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes.
The 21st century has seen a huge rise in musical television series, whether it's "High School
Musical" and "Glee" or the more adult-oriented "Galavant" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." So it
makes sense that Fox would try another one. "Monarch" follows the lives of the Roman family,
a dynasty of country musicians who are doing everything they can to stay on top of the charts.
Deadline notes that the series actually had a promising start,
but failed to maintain its viewership or quality over the course of the first season. That decline,
along with a poor critical reception, gave Fox all the reason it needed to cancel the show.
With an approval rating of just 31% on Rotten Tomatoes, few reviews had
anything positive to say about the musical series. Many of the complaints focused
on Susan Sarandon's disappointingly small role, with The Hollywood Reporter writing,
"There's no breakout character to be found in 'Monarch' and no breakout performances."
"The Terminal List" had plenty going for it. The action thriller series had
several high-profile names attached, including Chris Pratt, Constance Wu,
and Taylor Kitsch. And it follows the story of a Navy SEAL trying to keep his family
safe while he investigates the deaths of many of his colleagues in an ambush.
That cast and premise seems like the formula for a top-notch watch,
but critics labeled the show boring. TVLine found almost every aspect of
the show mundane, calling the action sequences unexciting, and adding,
"We get saccharine family scenes and a paint-by-numbers conspiracy that gets
more complicated but not any more compelling."
Some, including Jack Carr, the author of the novels that the show is based on,
believed that the negative reviews were the result of political bias. But critics almost
universally agreed the show was confusing and unsatisfying. TV Guide notes that Amazon Prime
members watched the heck out of it, though, so there'll surely be a second season.