TV Talk: Soaps 'Ratched' and 'Filthy Rich' bubble up

Actress Sarah Paulson starred in writer/producer Ryan Murphy’s “The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” and multiple seasons of “American Horror Story,” proving to be his MVP, a streak she extends in Murphy’s “Ratched,” streaming Friday on Netflix.

A prequel to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” – both the 1962 Ken Kesey novel and the 1975 film — “Ratched” begins in 1947 following the murder of multiple priests by Edmund Tolleson (Finn Wittrock, another Murphy regular).

In a seemingly disconnected story – until late in the premiere – Paulson’s Mildred Ratched travels to California’s Lucia State Mental Hospital, where she pretends to have a job interview.

Ratched models her wardrobe after movie stars and evinces a single-minded determination to land a job working for Dr. Hanover (Jon Jon Biones from Murphy’s “Versace: American Crime Story”) and alongside his majordomo, Nurse Bucket (Judy Davis from Murphy’s “Feud: Bette and Joan”), who is to “Ratched” as Nurse Ratched was to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Written by Evan Romansky and directed by Murphy, the pilot looks amazing, from color-popping wardrobes to lighting effects and a Hitchcockian soundtrack (lots of violins). “Ratched” lures viewers in even as the second hour, featuring multiple scenes of patients receiving lobotomies, and dares viewers to continue watching.

Initially Mildred Ratched seems like a cold sociopath, involving herself in multiple murders through the show’s first four episodes. But by the end of the season her character has undergone a sizeable shift, shedding the crazy.

Weirdly, Mildred is more like the Nurse Ratched of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at the start of the season than she is at the end. Presumably the character will pendulum swing back the other direction in a second season that has already been ordered.

“Ratched” suffers from the same affliction as many Murphy shows: Inconsistency. The amazing lighting flourishes evaporate in the latter half of the season, which tacks toward “Hannibal” territory and gives off an “everything but the kitchen sink” vibe as Murphy plays a theme also found in “Feud” – women of a certain age who begin as rivals but come to respect one another.

Through it all the performances of Paulson, Davis, Cynthia Nixon (as Paulson’s potential love interest) and Sophie Okonedo (as a mental hospital patient) keep “Ratched” watchable even as the quality droops under the weight of too much melodrama.

‘Filthy Rich’

Fox’s latest prime-time soap, “Filthy Rich,” won’t be mistaken for great TV but its pilot episode is a hoot. Future installments prove uneven.

Written and directed by Tate Taylor (“Ma,” “The Help”), the “Filthy Rich” (9 p.m. Monday, WPGH-TV) pilot introduces the Monreauxes, a mega-rich New Orleans family that 25 years ago created a successful Christian television network. As they’re about to launch what’s essentially a Christian Amazon.com, patriarch Eugene (Gerald McRaney) boards a plane that goes down and he’s presumed dead, leaving behind grieving wife Margaret (scene-stealer Kim Cattrall, having fun).

Turns out Eugene sired three children out of wedlock who are recognized in his will, which enrages Margaret and disappoints legitimate children Rose (Aubrey Dollar) and Eric, who’s played by 2012 Carnegie Mellon University musical theater grad Corey Cott, making his prime-time series regular debut a few years after his CMU grad younger brother, Casey Cott, landed a regular role on The CW’s “Riverdale.” (Watch a video interview with Corey Cott embedded in the online version of this story at TribLive.com.)

“I’ve dealt with a lot of bastards,” Margaret says of Eugene’s newly-discovered now-adult children, “these three will be no different.Cattrall’s Margaret is the glue that holds this show together; whenever she’s on screen “Filthy Rich” is at its best. Snappy dialogue (“People of faith are not that fickle,” Margaret says in episode two, “that’s the beauty of faith”), a jaunty score and a relentless pace that barrels forward – one plot that could hang over an entire season gets dismissed in the pilot — positions “Filthy Rich” as Fox’s heir to “Empire,” albeit an “Empire” without Shakespearean undertones. And “Filthy Rich” more readily encourages viewers to laugh along with it.

But like “Empire,” which faded in quality after its first season, there are reasons for concern. Taylor didn’t write episodes two and three and the zingers are fewer and further between, although episode three features an entertaining, live-on-TV character-driven showdown between Margaret and newly-revealed step-daughter Ginger (Melia Kreiling), a cam girl who runs a sexually explicit website.

‘Challenger: The Final Flight’

There are few revelations that justify the four-hour running time of Netflix’s now-streaming docu-series about the 1986 space shuttle explosion.

Viewers get a sense of the crew members through interviews with family members – school teacher Christa McAuliffe’s sister is interviewed; McAuliffe’s children and widower, who have long shunned the spotlight, are not – while interviews with engineers and NASA administrators who allowed the launch despite knowing the risks prove enlightening and infuriating. The fourth hour is the strongest, showing how members of the investigation commission used “bureaucratic jujitsu” to thwart efforts to protect NASA’s image.

Kept/canceled/revived

HBO Max renewed “Doom Patrol” for a third season.

Adult Swim canceled “Venture Brothers” after seven seasons spread over 17 years.

Writer Kourtney Kang, who attended college at the University of Pittsburgh and graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University, will executive produce “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,” a Hawaii-set reimagining of “Doogie Howser, M.D.” for Disney+.

John Cena and Nicole Byer (“Nailed It!”) will host TBS’s revival of ABC’s “Wipeout.”

Netflix ordered an animated “Good Times” reboot from the original show’s creator, Norman Lear.

Channel surfing

Veteran WPXI-TV reporter Renee Wallace retired from TV news in late July after a 25-year run at Channel 11. She’ll divide her time between Pittsburgh and Beaufort, S.C., where she hopes to teach TV reporting at the collegiate level and/or give dolphin tours. … The 53rd season premiere of CBS’s “60 Minutes” (7:30 p.m. Sunday) includes a report on Pennsylvania’s new vote-by-mail system. … WQED-TV is now available via a livestream at www.wqed.org/livestream (or on the PBS app) that simulcasts what’s on Channel 13’s linear channel. It’s only available in WQED’s broadcast area. … PBS Kids’ “Odd Squad,” from Pittsburgh-based Fred Rogers Productions, landed a new sponsor, digital learning website Adventure Academy, which will have a 15-second spot at the start of each episode through December 2021. “Odd Squad” is currently in production on an additional 13 episodes beyond the original 20-episode order for the show’s third season (15 season-three episodes have aired so far). … In early 2021, CBS All Access will be renamed Paramount + with plans for a limited, scripted series about the making of “The Godfather.” … Comedy Central’s “South Park” will air a one-hour pandemic-themed special next week (8 p.m. Wednesday). … HBO’s “Watchmen” was the big winner in the 2020 Television Critics Association Awards, taking home trophies for new program, program of the year, best miniseries and outstanding individual achievement in drama (Regina King). Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek” won for comedy, HBO’s “Succession” was named best drama and PBS Kids’ “Molly of Denali” won for best children’s show. Alex Trebek (“Jeopardy!”) received TCA’s career achievement award.

TV writer Rob Owen: rowen@triblive.com. Follow @RobOwenTV on Twitter or Facebook.