Though Wood may not entirely overcome some of the rockier bits of his vision, particularly some story threads that are abandoned or thrown in, he has still put together a truly sumptuous treat with Malice.

Even in the extraordinary situations they portray, even when I didn’t buy a plot point or a development felt too convenient, I rarely felt that characters weren’t speaking as people do — or psychopaths, who are people too.

In the end it sort of works. You’re watching a character who knows he shouldn’t really be there, played by a man who knows he shouldn’t really be there. Look at it that way, and perhaps the casting is a stroke of genius.

While we liked the performances of Whitehall, Duchovny and van Houten, Malice really doesn’t give the viewers much in the way of dramatic momentum in the first episode, and the show doesn’t know whether it wants to be funny or scary.

Neither Duchovny or Whitehall, who mostly works as a comedian, deepen their characters beyond “callous rich guy” or “vindictive psychopath.” From performances to plot, much of “Malice” feels like it’s on autopilot. Watching it feels much the same.

It’s as hollow as the smiling villain at its center. What we are left with, in the absence of any compelling point, is a string of events to watch transpire between several people who are neither likable nor particularly interesting.

The story moves at a snail’s pace with clunky dialogue and a complete lack of the suspense needed to make a thriller work. Plots come and go without conclusion, and – worst of all – it’s boring. The acting is just the nail in the coffin.