Mr. In-between is a rare half-hour drama, given that most dramas are hour-long episodes with the 30-minute notch normally reserved for animated or comedies. It’s an FX show, billed as a drama involving criminal elements, and it doesn’t take much to see that the main character is a mid-level street thug acting as enforcer and collections for a bookie. It has a strong Sopranos taste to it in the sense of a dissatisfied crook, and he is at least good at his job.

He is appropriately menacing as he wanders around collecting owed monies, and acting as a bouncer at a strip club. But you also get to see him with his daughter and father, and another scene where he meets a girl with a dog in the park. But he fails to do anything about the girl, despite his obvious attraction to her and her interest in him. Later, he’s back at his simple apartment, playing video games by himself and lamenting the fact he didn’t do anything.

Scott Ryan is the writer-producer for the show, and also plays the main character, Ray. And he has some potential for the future, as trailers show him in a group therapy session for something talking about his work and what he does. But despite some interesting elements for the first episode, it’s missing anything resembling a plot.

I saw him meet some people, do a bit of collections, flirt with a girl, hang out with his daughter, and do a weird favour for a friend. I couldn’t actually care any less about him than I do now. There’s no REASON to care what happens to him.

I was leery of the 30 minute format, and I went with CANCELLED, sight unseen. Now that I have seen it, I want my 30 minutes back. Still predicting CANCELLED.