Pilot Review: Golden Boy

Golden Boy (CBS)
Premiered February 26 at 10pm

If there’s one thing that CBS doesn’t need, it’s another cop show set in New York. The network managed a successful update of the genre a few years ago with “Blue Bloods,” and now it’s getting away from the extended family format and focusing instead on a young cop and his gradual rise to the top. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it all that much more interesting, and the show feels far too dated to be timely and relevant. Telling the story in multiple time periods with the knowledge that certain characters, namely Chi McBride’s Detective Owen, won’t make it to the present day. McBride is just one of several actors wasted in roles here, after his standout humorous parts in “Pushing Daisies” and “Human Target” showed that he’s capable of being extremely entertaining when he’s not just dryly gruff. Kevin Alejandro had such better roles in both “True Blood” and “Parenthood” in the past, and Holt McCallany was so terrific in the lead role in FX’s short-lived “Lights Out” that it’s sad to see them both relegated to meatless characters here. Bonnie Somerville is the sole member of the cast who is actually given a decent part, but her accent is all too excessive. Star Theo James, who, like so many on American television these days, is not actually American, brings little charisma to Walter, and it’s hard to empathize with him since he’s just not an exceptionally compelling character. This seems like a show that might have been hard-hitting and groundbreaking a decade or two ago, but not so today.

How will it work as a series? One episode was enough for me, so I haven’t continued to see where the show goes. I do suspect that Walter will come up against many more obstacles as he makes his way to the top, and his working relationship with the other officers will get rockier before it gets smoother. We’ve seen it all before, and I don’t think this case merits special observation.
How long will it last? It looks like it may indeed have a promising future, considering the fact that the show managed to keep the Tuesdays at 10pm slot that was previously occupied by “Vegas,” with that show being banished to Fridays instead. This is just the kind of show that CBS likes, and so I figure that, even if it doesn’t ultimately succeed, it should last for a while, especially if CBS is looking for a midseason win. It could easily be renewed, but I wouldn’t count on it happening for sure.

Pilot grade: C