I don't know if it is the upcoming U.S. elections to blame but this season is full of new shows with larger-than-life women who are sexy and famous and "the best" on what they do...and...and...
Of course there were many TV series and movies and franchises with strong women in the past, but the "flavor" has seriously changed for the worst.
So, "Conviction" is another show starring "the woman about whom everyone is talking about". She was "the First daughter". And "she is the best" and she is ...busted for possession of cocaine and the District Attorney (who might be also an old boyfriend) ...blackmails her to lead something called "Conviction Integrity Unit".
The premise of C.I.U. is good and potentially interesting (as of Cold Cases Units) for a TV legal drama, but this is pretty much where the good stuff ends.
The pace of the pilot episode is unnecessarily fast. Trying to create a hype as soon as possible, and lots of hasty delivered facts to build the whole show in under 2 minutes, so the team of C.I.U. to be ready to begin its first case. It is obviously a procedural drama from now on.
The dialogues are trite (lots of "I didn't kill her because I loved her" yada-yada) and the situations too unbelievable to tolerate: About the previously mentioned possession, the first daughter is blackmailed ...3 times during the first 10 minutes of the pilot (by the DA, a member of her unit, and the ...mother of the guy who is her first case).
Overall: The writers and the producers of Network TV nowadays are short of ideas (judging by the number of "reboots", "remakes", "based on" etc. especially this season). But the main problem is the way they produced and deliver their shows. They are trying to impress with gimmicks and hype but they fall short in the substance. Conviction might get more interesting if its writers calm down and focus less on the "gossip girl" stuff and more on the material. I'm pretty sure there are many actual cases of wrongfully accused people out there that they can get inspiration of.
