Much better than the reviews suggest

I wasn't sure if I was going to watch this because the reviews have been so brutal but I like the cast so I went ahead. I'm glad I did because I think it has potential. It's not great by any means. But it's not half as bad as the reviews suggest. I'm not sure if it's really mainstream enough for ABC though. I think it appeals to a pretty specific audience and would be better off on cable.

I love the music - both the 80s soundtrack and the eerie composition in alot of Kent's scenes. It's very foreboding and suspenseful. Add in the smokey seedy Sunset Drive settings and the show makes me think early 80s noir.

I really liked Taissa and Erika in particular. I think they could be the emotional lynchpin for the show. Particularly Erika but maybe Taissa too. I found them both very engaging with the limited writing they had to work with. I'm interested in Taissa's character, the ambitious journalist, but the character I'm most drawn to is Erika's character, nurse mom Betty. I hope they really flesh it out so we get a sense of how she goes from mom/nurse to fellow killer. They hinted at it a little bit with the bug squashing scene but obviously they need to do more. I really liked Ed's performance too. Kent is such a creepy blank character but with just enough hustle to make me buy he could talk these girls into anything.

I'm drawn to darker stranger material so I really enjoyed the odd Betty and Kent dynamic. I thought their bedroom scene had an unsettling intimacy to it. A big contrast to the cliche "bang chick in the shower" scene that Jeremy Sisto's character had with his mistress.

I think the shows big flaws are with the cop side of the story. I love Jeremy Sisto. I think he's a terrific male lead but the writing for his character is straight out of a thousand procedurals. The banter between him and the Gabriel Luna character wasn't entertaining at all. The dialogue was well..kinda lame.
There were also alot of little things that could take people out of the story - like the fact some of the music had not been released in 1982. I don't have that issue but I know some people get really irritated when noone thinks of the details. So the writers should be more careful in future episodes.

Overall I liked it enough to give it a chance. Most shows take a while to get their groove and this one has potential for sure.

Godmother of outcasts. Madonna of the unloved.