Bridgerton

My empty, end-of-the-year brain was well served by the burlesque of selfish viscounts, conniving ladies of the house, and enterprising modistes. Less pleasurable were certain attempts at seriousness. ... The grafting of contemporary politics onto the period piece feels extraneous and vague. Maybe this interracial-love fetish would have jelled better in the Obama era.

As opening bids go, however, Bridgerton plays a weak hand, turning Julia Quinn's novels about a 19th-century London family into a handsome but tedious snooze -- think "Masterpiece Theater," only with more sex and nudity.

Van Dusen and his team seem to bite off more than they can chew by giving each of their characters, brought to life by a charming cast, a hefty storyline that in some cases is flayed by the end of the season. That's compounded by its melodrama, which may attract those with a specific palate for this kind of fare, like Downton Abbey and The Crown, even with its flaws, but others may not be able to get past its foibles to enjoy the operatic escapades. Bridgerton is ultimately extravagantly decent.

The result is an inconsistently paced effort that ultimately reveals itself as an entirely predictable “Pride and Prejudice” retread. “Bridgerton” is amusing enough and will scratch a certain thirsty itch, but its themes about love, marriage, and class aren’t quite as progressive as it would like to think.

It’s a fun show, for a while at least; the escapism quotient is high, especially at the end of a year without parties or gowns or skin-to-skin contact between people who don’t already share a bathroom. And it’s exciting to see Shondaland, which spent so many years chronicling the adventures of 21st-century professional superwomen, play around in a genre where feminist empowerment is harder to come by. If only the writing matched the production values.

Considering the money that must have been spent on it, “Bridgerton” should be better. It has all the trappings of a 1980s network miniseries but none of its sizzle. More humor -- and an appearance by Andrews -- would help immensely.