MINISERIES PREMIERE: Frank Darabont, in his first TV outing since leaving
The Walking Dead, presents a new six-hour miniseries (presented in weekly two-hour chunks) about L.A. mobsters and coppers, set in 1947. It’s pure Raymond Chandler territory, where everyone smokes, talks tough, and drives vintage cars on city streets that always seem coated with puddles and reflective water, even in Los Angeles. The bad news is that the characters talk too much while registering too little, and even the plot surprises are about as unexpected as the twists in the center of a pretzel. The good news: There’s some strong casting here, especially the use of Jon Bernthal from
The Walking Dead and Neal McDonough, most recently of
Justified, as tough cops. But like another period mobster TV series set in sunny climes, Starz’s
Magic City, Mob City looks flashy, but doesn’t have the substance to match. For a full review, see Ed Bark's
Uncle Barky's Bytes.