Star

While the Daniels drama does have some bounce to its step, at least early on, it isn’t as instantly appealing and distinctive as Empire” was.

A prime-time soap that wants to be harder-edged than “Empire,” but instead manages to be less fun.

It’s a very tentative introduction, made all the more surprising by the fact that Daniels wrote and directed it from his own treatment. It doesn’t foster much confidence, let alone interest, in a series when even its creator is unsure of how to flesh out that world.

If Daniels had put more emphasis on the polish of his artifice and gave the show’s aesthetic the same bombast that it’s tawdry, openly cheesy dialogue gives the story, Star might have proven to be a subversive, infuriated series. It’s overall look, however, is more chintzy than anything else, wrecked with soft focus and lazy, unconvincing you-are-there camerawork.

Star is a lot of different things that add up to little that’s worth the time investment. After a few episodes, you may be inclined to reach the same conclusion that Big Boi, who makes a cameo appearance in episode three, eventually does: “You know what? Too much drama, I’m outta here.”

They can sing, but not well enough to make you forget the sub-Lifetime made-for-TV-movie dialogue, whiplash plotting and utterly laughable dramatic moments.

Rather than honestly represent the storyline’s treacherous scenarios--which include parental, drug, and alcohol abuse, as well as more outrageous extremes like murder--Daniels’ drama exploits the perilous conditions it portrays, grounding its fantasy in a false reality.