The Morning After: Return of the Kings

I made it a point to watch last night, and while it is still a bit soap opera-y, there are enough surprises to make it worth an hour on Sunday night. I think watching how the characters will flesh out will be the most interesting part of this particular show. Just when it seems as though one of them will develop into a stereotype, they break with convention just enough to keep you guessing. It brings a "greyness" to the plot lines, when so often the standards for these shows are black and white.
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The other pro from last night was Brian Cox's guest performance and how he and McShane played their scene together. If I have any cons for this show, I wish that sometimes the writers wouldn't beat us over the head with symbolism. I prefer my metaphors slightly more elusive.
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One question though, regarding the ratings (and this is coming from someone who knows absolutely nothing about the industry)... Is 6.0 Million viewers really too small for the network? If indeed NBC is trying to change its model to a more "basic cable" style, wouldn't that number hold up? I guess I'm looking at shows on other NBC Universal channels, and I would guess that ratings like that would allow the show to stick around. And that's the other thing, if Kings can't make it on NBC, what are the chances that it moves to USA where characters are welcome?
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In any event, I'll be sticking around as long as it's around... hopefully long enough so we can see Macaulay Culkin http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1137462/fullcredits#cast

I stuck around as well, and I'm glad I did, I think the show is definitely interesting enough to be worth an hour of my time on sunday. Also I agree with showtime, brian cox is awesome and his scene with McShane was the best part of the episode. McShane is fantastic in this show, I hope it sticks around just so I can see more of him.
I'm not sure this show would fit on USA (seems too grand), unlike Life which I hope is saved by USA if given the ax by NBC (which it shouldn't be b/c Damian Lewis is THE MAN). James, any chance that if NBC punts on Kings that HBO or showtime might be interested, a la the almost revival of Arrested Development?

I'm sticking with it. As I said last week, I'm excited to see how they interpret the rest of the story, when things move from soap opera to soap-opera-overdrive (Bathsheba, anyone?). Sure, there are faults, but David didn't make any overblown speeches last night, so that major one wasn't present. And knowing what I know about the Biblical story, there was some really cool foreshadowing.

I liked it, and I'll watch again next week. I do think though like has been said before that it'd be better received on another channel. We will see... I'm pretty curious about what the ratings will look like this week

I have both episodes on the DVR, but after the initial ratings I'm going to hold off on watching them b/c I don't want to get invested if the thing gets canceled. It's a 13-hour "season" right? Do we know for sure if the whole arc is going to air?

I've enjoyed both episodes. Could do without all of the less talented younger members of the cast, but it's a treat to see so many of my favorite character actors all in one show: Dylan Baker, Wes Studi, Brian Cox, Miguel Ferrer. The plot is interesting as Ian McShane is outstanding. I hope it lasts the 13 episodes so we can at least be treated to one season. And does NBC really have anything better waiting in the wings?

gketch makes a good (possibly the best) argument, at least in my mind: does NBC have anything better? Once Kings gears up, it could be a decent watercooler show. Doctor dramas, crime scene procedurals, and "ripped from the headlines" legal shows are on the way out, and what's filling the "quality" void is a diverse array of dramas (many of them on cable): Kings, Mad Men, True Blood, Breaking Bad, Fringe, Sons of Anarchy, Lost, Heroes, 24, et al. They're sci fi, they're character dramas, they're period pieces, alternate history, and comic books. These shows really have nothing in common except good writing and acting and interesting premises, which I would argue beats another CSI or Law and Order clone, and it trounces bad reality crap. If NBC wants to survive the coming content wars, I think it's best bet is doubling down on the new scripted model, and giving viewers some appointment TV to get hooked to.

@vastwastelander - couldn't agree more, I have a hard time believing that NBC has better options out there. The only concern is whether this show ends up being a casualty of NBC eliminating five hours of drama time from its primetime lineup with the reslotting of the extremely unfunny jay leno to 10pm. If they have room for 5 hours each week of biggest loser, howie do it, and celebrity apprentice, I'd think they could make room for 60 measly minutes of an interesting drama.

Ouch. 4.5 million this week. At this rate, it'll be in negative numbers by episode 5. But I'm still watching in the hopes we'll get all 13 episodes because, like others have said, what else does NBC have?

But sulliclm those shows you named, however bad they may be, have better ratings and are much cheaper than Kings. NBC has no motive... besides self-respect, and they gave up on that awhile ago

Re: What else can they show? vastwastelander says Doctor dramas, crime scene procedurals, and "ripped from the headlines" legal shows are on the way out. I'm curious: do you mean this from the perspective of a TV fan - they're on the way out in the sense that the more critical fans enjoy them less, or from the perspective of the viewing public - their ratings are steadily decreasing. It seems like the generic CSI and Law & Order type shows are still plenty popular.