Pilot Review: Now Apocalypse

Now Apocalypse (Starz)
Premiered March 10 at 9pm

If there’s one thing that doesn’t need to be explored yet again on television, it’s the impending end of the world. There are two shows currently dealing with that which both started just a few weeks ago, “Doom Patrol” and “The Umbrella Academy,” and those at least featured superpowered protagonists who are trying their best to stop it. What we have here instead is a perplexing and totally unappealing look at ordinary people who spend more time trying to find dates and have sex than they do anything else. The moment in this pilot that will likely never be erased from my memory found two different couples achieving satisfaction at exactly the same time thanks to the editing, something which I found gratuitous and entirely unnecessary. Sure, the world may be ending soon, but at least Ulysses had a great time with his internet date who turned out to be real after all. There wasn’t anything in this show, which miraculously only runs half an hour rather than a full hour, which makes me want to watch it. What puzzles me most is who exactly the intended audience of this show is, since it’s not really science fiction, it’s not horror, and it has far too much explicit content to be aimed at teenagers, the group that best fits the maturity level expressed throughout this entire first episode. I don’t think there’s much else to say – I’m more than happy to forget as much of this show as I can, as quickly as possible.

How will it work as a series? That final scene indicates that, as long as he’s not crazy, Ulysses’ premonitions do have some validity, and there’s reason for him to fear more than just being catfished by someone he met online. I doubt anyone will believe him, and it’s not as if his best friend and roommate have their lives all that much more together than he does to truly do something about it.
How long will it last? I was surprised to learn that this show has apparently impressed people, earning much more decent reviews than I would have thought. Ratings data isn’t a huge thing that Starz broadcasts, but I’d say that premiering this show right after its ultra-popular “American Gods” debuts its second season definitely gives it a better chance at long life than it otherwise would have had.

Pilot grade: F