EPIX put out a decent amount of new shows this year, and one of them is Godfather of Harlem. Shows like American Gangster and Hoodlum have used some of the same real-life characters before, so it’s not unfamiliar ground for many, but there’s no telling how close it is to the reality of the era. Based on the premise, I predicted cancellation.

Ignoring the historical roots for a moment, the premise is a black crime boss returns from Alcatraz to his old neighbourhood in Harlem. According to the show, he went down on a narcotics bust that the mafia families had screwed up, and yet he took the hit and didn’t snitch. So he has some goodwill on his side. But he wants his business back. While he’s been gone, the Italians have taken it over, from 110th to 160th Street. I found two scenes particularly compelling in the opening episode.

First was his return to his old neighbourhood. His wife has a welcome home party for him, and as he wanders around the room talking to people, they all have the same pattern — welcoming him home and then mentioning business to him or asking indirectly for money. The local don is back, and everybody seems to want a piece of the action again.

The second was a scene where he makes a deal with Malcolm X and Reverend Powell to get something they each want. Yes, Malcolm X. And Malcolm isn’t too happy he’s being used by the crime boss, but if there’s a deal that furthers his agenda too, he’s open to it.

But what makes the show is a combination of the tone (earnest, aggressive camera angles) and the acting. Forest Whitaker plays Bumpy Johnson, the returning crime boss, and he is outstanding. I fell in love with Whitaker back in the day for Good Morning, Vietnam, although Platoon, Bloodsport and the Color of Money didn’t hurt either. Obviously, 30 years later, he’s more mature, and that older calmer man is capable of a much different, more nuanced performance. He’s got henchmen and family running around, but it’s when he’s working that he truly shines.

Vincent D’Onofrio plays his Italian counterpart who took over the business. He looks smaller and healthier than the behemoth that was Wilson Fisk (Daredevil), but I doubt he’ll ever match the magic of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. That was just pure heaven in the early days. Here he does a great job of wheels within wheels of machinations.

Paul Sorvino has a small part as a mafia don, and he’s decent, while Giancarlo Esposito plays Reverend Powell well too. But in the opener, it was Nigel Thatch as Malcolm X who truly outclassed everyone in every scene. Part writing, part character, part actor, but it was awesome.

And while I was expecting The Sopranos with black people, the episode is so much more. And I’ll change my prediction. Now that I have seen an episode, I have to predict that EPIX will renew it. The actors are too good not to be renewed.

Netflix has a show called The Politician, and based on the description, it apparently is about a young man’s self-chosen destiny to be the President of the United States. In order to get there, Payton has six other elections to win, and the apparent intent of the show is that each season will deal with each of the elections. Up first? The election to become president of his high school. Based on the description, I was estimating something between Jack and Bobby and the West Wing, but likely closer to Jack and Bobby. And I predicted cancellation.

What I didn’t see mentioned in any of the short materials announcing the show was the note that the show is, more or less, a COMEDY. If I’d known that, I would have predicted cancellation much more rapidly. Now that I’ve seen it, I can only say it is not like any other show I’ve ever seen. There is humour buried within it, although it is played entirely straight.

Episode 1 revolves around the revelation that Payton’s friend is running against him. Mainly because his girlfriend put him up to it. As the story progresses, you realize that he slept with the guy the year before, there’s much more emotion running through the jealous girlfriend’s hatred of Payton, etc. And — spoiler alert — the guy running against him, River, ends up committing suicide. Then Payton and his advisors scheme how to turn the suicide to his advantage. The juxtaposition between cold and calculated political machinations — Payton sings at the funeral, he picks a girl with cancer as his running mate — against the nature of the job…it’s JUST high school, right? Yet Payton has three advisors on his team. Even the West Wing was never this brutal.

But while it is mildly amusing in places, it is definitely not laugh-out-loud funny, and I don’t see it making it seven seasons. I’m going to check out now.

Maybe it’s because I know a few people who have gone to med school, or that I know one in particular who went to med school later in life, but I kind of had a bit of hopefulness in watching the new CBS show, Carol’s Second Act. The short exposition dumped early in the episode is that Carol taught high school science, had some kids, etc., and then her marriage fell apart and she went to med school. Now she’s the oldest intern. Sounds like the show, The Rookie, except instead of cops, it’s medicine, and female instead of male. I would say also it’s supposed to be a comedy instead of a drama, but that’s highly debatable.

The show stars Patricia Heaton, and for many, that’s apparently a bonus. Sure, people liked her long-suffering role on Everybody Loves Raymond, and the audience applauds as soon as she appears in the episode. But it’s a comedy. And I don’t think I even smiled the entire episode. It was more farcical than comedic and her own attempts to be funny? Ridiculous. Even down to the “I’m going to rant and rave and then stop, only to find out you were going to apologize” scene. This passes for comedy?

She’s surrounded by five other doctors, all ridiculous caricatures. The strict, no-nonsense black woman boss. The laid back, pseudo hippie senior attending physician. Three other interns — quiet guy, Latino girl, over-confident white guy. The only good scene in the entire episode was Dr. Carol talking to a patient and giving bad news, drawing upon her life experience to deal with him compassionately and professionally. Sweet. Touching. Redeeming if it wasn’t done by her since her ethics were already intact. Snore.

I’m out, and I’m betting lots of other people will be too. It’s just not funny.