A contemporary update of the 1974 novel “Six Days of the Condor” and the 1975 movie “Three Days of the Condor,” the new Audience Network hourlong “Condor” follows a big-brained CIA analyst who finds himself on the run after surviving a bloodbath at his top-secret think-tank.
The new series is going to remind many, agreeably, of Fox’s late, lamented “24.” Like the old Kiefer Sutherland thriller, “Condor” traffics in high-stakes terrorism but also demonstrates how personal lives can compromise national security. Though there are copious flashbacks (flashbacks were never a component of the Fox series), there’s also an almost-real-time element that evokes the digital clock so often plastered over Jack Bauer’s adventures
Eight years ago AMC mounted “Rubicon,” which acquired a cult following but immediately struck me as a crappy unauthorized rip-off of “Three Days of the Condor.”
The Audience Network’s authorized version (launching 10 p.m. tonight on DirecTV and AT&T U-verse) is better -- buoyed not only by strong source material but also (like the movie) a tremendous supporting cast that this time includes Mira Sorvino (who turns up in the second hour), William Hurt, Bob Balaban and Brendan Fraser (still packing more girth than Encino Man but much better here than he was in FX’s Getty TV series “Trust”).
The first three episodes of “Condor” are very well directed by prolific and versatile TV vet Lawrence Trilling (“Alias,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Parenthood,” “Goliath”), who works from teleplays by Todd Katzberg and Jason Smilovic. Smilovic also created “Karen Sisco” and “Kidnapped,” two of the better short-lived hourlongs that helped keep network programming lively a bit more than a decade ago.
Some of the dialogue is surprisingly clunky but the series is otherwise very watchable, with cliffhangers that precipitated bona fide binging here at Chez Hercules. I effortlessly powered through the first three hours and am very much looking forward to learning what happens in hour four.
Last week’s “Empire” was the series’ lowest rated finale to date:
Empire
(adults 18-49; newer episodes to the left; the 3.8 was the series premiere)
(1.7) (1.6) (1.6) (1.7) (1.7) (1.8) (1.9) (1.8) (2.0) 2018
(1.9) (1.8) (1.7) (2.0) (1.8) (1.8) (2.0) (1.9) (2.4) 2017
(2.5) (2.2) (2.2) (1.9) (2.1) (2.3) (2.2) (2.4) (2.8) 2017
(2.7) (2.5) (2.9) (3.1) (2.9) (3.4) (3.4) (3.7) (4.2) 2016
(4.1) (3.7) (3.6) (3.8) (3.7) (3.8) (4.3) (4.8) (---) 2016
(4.5) (3.2) (4.4) (4.2) (4.6) (4.8) (4.7) 2015
(5.1) (5.5) (6.7) (6.5) (5.8) (5.8) (5.4) 2015
(5.2) (4.8) (4.6) (4.3) (4.4) (4.0) (3.8) 2015
The series finale of “The Americans” brought the show’s best demo score in a long time, but it still didn’t do as well as “Boise Boys.”
Wednesdays, April 18-May 30, 2018
(adults 18-49; older weeks in parentheses; repeats in gray)
1.3 (0.9) (0.5) (---) (0.5) (0.5) (0.2) NHL Hockey
1.2 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Ninja Warrior
1.1 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) MasterChef
0.7 (---) (0.8) (0.7) (0.7) (0.7) (---) Code Black
0.6 (---) (---) (0.6) (0.6) (0.5) (0.5) Black Ink Crew
0.6 (---) (1.2) (1.2) (1.2) (0.7) (0.7) The Goldbergs
0.6 (---) (1.3) (1.3) (1.2) (0.8) (0.7) Modern Family
0.6 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Reverie
0.5 (---) (1.1) (1.1) (0.9) (---) (0.8) American Housewife
0.5 (0.4) (0.5) (0.5) (0.4) (0.5) (0.5) Real HWives NYC
0.5 (---) (0.9) (0.9) (0.9) (0.8) (---) SEAL Team
0.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Boise Boys
0.3 (0.2) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) (---) Botched
0.3 (0.3) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Brother Vs. Brother
0.3 (---) (0.3) (0.2) (0.3) (---) (0.3) The Daily Show
0.3 (0.3) (---) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) Full Frontal
0.3 (0.2) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) (---) Grocery Games
0.3 (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.4) (0.4) (0.3) Hannity
0.3 (0.2) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) House Hunters
0.3 (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) House Hunters Intl
0.3 (0.2) (0.3) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) Ingraham Angle
0.3 (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (---) (---) Misfit Garage
0.3 (---) (---) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) MLBaseball
0.3 (0.2) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) Murder Chose Me
0.3 (0.3) (---) (0.4) (0.4) (0.3) (0.4) My 600-Lb Life
0.3 (0.1) (0.3) (0.3) (0.4) (0.4) (0.4) The Originals
0.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Queen Sugar
0.3 (0.2) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) (0.2) Pardon/Interruption
0.3 (0.3) (0.4) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) Rachel Maddow
0.3 (0.3) (---) (0.3) (0.3) (---) (---) See No Evil
0.2 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) The Americans
0.2 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Supergirl
0.2 (1.1) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) (0.2) SportsCenter
0.2 (0.2) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.2) Tucker Carlson
