Notorious

It’s blunt, stylish, and it doesn’t care too much about waiting for the audience to catch up. ... Plenty of the show’s scenarios may raise some eyebrows, but it’s their improbable-but-not-impossible feel that keeps everything engaging.

Admittedly, the collusive relationship between Jake and Julia is a useful plot mechanism. It might even be credible if it weren’t for the fact the rest of the story is so junked up with eyebrow-raisers. Ultimately, the real reason Notorious is at least watchable is the cast. Perabo and Sunjata are magnetic in whatever they do, and they have great chemistry.

Notorious is the perfect kind of easy-to-digest, fluffy drama series that doesn’t feel beholden to a deeply serious central event (a la Quantico or Designated Survivor), but whose attractive cast and confidence in its storytelling make it a worthy successor to glossy, fast-paced series like Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder.

It’s like the writers are just throwing ideas on a wall to see what sticks. Nothing about this pilot feels finely tuned or carefully constructed. It’s a shame, actually, given the great chemistry between Perabo and Sunjata in the first place.

This is a show without any nutritive value, innate appeal or sense of purpose. It slogs through its muck until the buzzer sounds.

Character likability is actually just one issue. Plausibility is the other.

It’s a prime-time drama that leans too heavily on flash and trash without having the common decency to be ironic.