Parents' Guide to American Gothic

Though it's chock-full of artsy references that go way beyond Grant Wood's iconic painting, this gimmicky attempt at a cultured mystery largely feels like a misfire. From a lesbian affair that feels forced and contrived to an estranged brother who not-so-subtly shaves his beard with a hunting knife (not to mention a loyal family groundskeeper named Gunther), these are concepts you might come up with while thumbing through a book of Mad Libs. Which actually makes the whole thing rather funny, though we're not quite sure that's the intent.

And yet, problems aside, American Gothic is still fairly watchable, and you'll find yourself wanting to know who did it in spite of your better judgment. Madsen is effectively chilly as the family matriarch with shadowy motives, and the child actor playing her death-obsessed grandson adds some uncomfortably dark humor to the proceedings. It's also kind of fun to hunt for art references hidden in between the bad dialogue, including a clever visual nod to "Whistler's Mother" at the end of the pilot and allusions to the works of Edward Hopper and Georgia O'Keeffe.