The pilot for Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector moves fast and efficiently sets up a workable series that could blend weekly procedural elements with an ongoing — and very familiar — serial killer mystery. It's not instantly gripping. But it's definitely better than its title.

In a world of gritty streaming series that cater to crime aficionados, Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector is simply too tame. You either need to shock people these days, or create three-dimensional characters that actors can really sink their teeth into, and unfortunately, this NBC series doesn't do either. It feels so generic and safe.

While way too much of "Lincoln Rhyme" is leaden and flat, there's still something there in Hornsby's performance that reminds you how good he can be with the right material.

“Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector” makes a big show of shaking up the usual procedural formula (different timelines! elaborate fakeouts! explosives!), but nonetheless follows the lead of umpteen serial killer stories so closely that it ends up a paint-by-numbers collision of predictable tropes. Rhyme speaks exclusively in clichés or outright word salad nonsense.