Wicked City

It’s still the usual story of women being victimized and mutilated. Wicked City otherwise is no great shakes in the script department, with Sisto’s Roth spitting out too many lines from a well-worn playbook.

In the absence of a believable or captivating story, Wicked tries to shock, but this is broadcast commercial TV. Ryan Murphy can and does more in two minutes on basic cable than Wicked­ can achieve in an hour.

Wicked City probably is a tired genre piece. (How's that for critical certitude?) But it's just possible that in future episodes, the flirtation between Kent and Betty may yield worthwhile television.

It’s not a terrible show for fans of crime dramas but it’s not great either, occupying the same mushy middle ground as summer’s “Aquarius” on NBC.

The cops, including Jeremy Sisto as a homicide veteran who loathes his new partner and cheats on his wife, are so generic they almost vanish in to the smog. [26 Oct - 8 Nov 2015, p.15]

This is a conventional crime show draped in period trappings when it should be steeped in the era.

Were the show conceived around Betty, making her the actor as opposed to a damaged innocent drawn into Kent’s web, the show would be a much more interesting show. As it is, Wicked City doesn’t have much to offer except for more gratuitous violence against women. But it’s got a great beat, and you can dance to it.

There are potential bright spots in how creator Steven Baigelman will handle the murderous partnership of Kent and Betty in the next nine episodes, but the show’s inept edginess and dull tone resoundingly guarantee that it won’t exactly be worthwhile.

Apart from some subtle work by Christensen, the series doesn't have much of interest to offer or fresh to say.

Betty may turn out to be the saving grace in a show that otherwise might fall victim to serial-killer fatigue.... But he real issue for this series is whether viewers will tolerate its tone. The premiere is drenched in an unpalatable sensationalism reminiscent of “Stalker,” the canceled CBS series from last season that was widely criticized for its voyeuristic, often misogynistic conceit. Fans of the early 1980s, if there are any, may like revisiting that era--the show, especially its soundtrack, never goes more than a few minutes without reminding you what the time period is.