Nope.

empressellaf

Usually, we try and give a show at least 4 or 5 episodes before we pass judgement on it. Unfortunately, we barely made it through the first 2 episodes. We tried it, because we like the assorted questions raised when the following categories are examined: good/evil, nature/nurture, and science/faith. The promos made it look as if this show might do this: a psychiatrist hired by the church to examine unexplained phenomena. Instead, it is a hodgepodge of lots of little sub-plots and random bits of information that wander aimlessly and, occasionally, overlap one another.

There has been a plethora of characters, and information, tossed at the viewers with no attempt to anchor any of them, or it, for the viewers. Take the main female lead as an example. She is a Doctor of Psychiatry who never gets addressed as Doctor. She sees a fellow psychiatrist for reasons not explained. She once was a famous mountain climber, and her husband is still trekking somewhere overseas for money while she struggles to raise their 4 little girls-- the youngest of whom may or may not have a fatal heart defect. Her mother, with issues of her own, babysits them but seems to half resent it. Her former boss, a D.A., is a misogynist, stupid, and unprofessional. All this information, except the heart defect, was thrown at us in episode 1! Her new boss, a man studying for the Priesthood, has his own long sheet of problems/issues I won't try and list here. The tech expert working with them also has his problems/issues, but they have only been lightly touched on so far. The last main player is the psychopath played eerily well by the man who played Finch on the show "Person of Interest". He is also a psychiatrist. In the space of 2 episodes: he gets caught by the 2 main leads manipulating someone into committing multiple murders, gets the female lead fired, gets hired in her place, and steals the session notes from her visits with her psychiatrist (who is inept and condescending). Finally, there is a demon named George, who may or may not be real, haunting the main female lead's dreams and/or home.

To top it all off, the show is, literally, too dark. Maybe they were trying to create "atmosphere" . All they've done is make it dreary. The idea behind this show was an interesting one, but it is not executed successfully. It feels forced, haphazard, and silly. There is one point of interest that puzzles me, but my family didn't notice it. I'm all for female characters who are written as strong, smart, and accomplished, but my credulity is not limitless. The main female lead is a highly successful practicing psychiatrist with 4 girls under, approximately, 11 years of age. Okay, but, before all that, she was a famous mountaineer, too. My question: how old was she when she started?!? Because, she doesn't look old enough unless she was a prodigy ala Doogie Howser!

score 1/10

empressellaf 5 October 2019

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw5162862/