A reteaming of “Burn Notice” creator Matt Nix (FX’s “The Comedians”) and the USA network, “Complications” follows a white, suburban emergency room doctor who finds himself mired in an inner-city gang war. It stars Irish actor Jason O’Mara, whose resume includes “In Justice,” the American “Life On Mars,” “Terra Nova,” “Vegas” (the one with Michael Chiklis) and “Sons of Liberty.”
... [“Complications” was] sent out [to critics] in its entirety — I made it through four [episodes] before concluding that "Complications" does not concern the effects of brutality on a life dedicated to healing or the snowballing effect of a bad decision. It's just a show that forces a nice guy doctor to act like a complete crazy person. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... quickly falters under the pressure of making a realistic TV thriller. … If Ellison had only gone to the police to get help protecting the boy, all those complications would be avoided. But to do the logical, realistic thing would also end this TV series prematurely, which leaves us with another TV thriller that’s betwixt and between the desire for an ongoing series and efforts to make the program and its characters’ actions believable. Talk about complications.
... gloomily sincere and uneven. … I’m not sure these characters are interesting or detailed enough to fill the gaps left by the absence of the cases-of-the-week, but at least “Complications” is aiming for something ambitiously driven by character and a serial arc. …
... By the third hour, as disaster piles upon disaster and absurdity swamps suspense, the show already seems to have lost its struggle to explain why the good doctor, having stumbled into this crisis, can't pull himself out of it. …
... a dreary drama … while Nix obviously had something to say with this show, he might have been too close to the material to diagnose the excesses, while the network was perhaps too grateful for past service to prod such changes. …
... O’Mara is a likeable screen presence, one of those journeyman actors who deserves to be on a great series. Unfortunately, Complications isn’t it. …
9 p.m. Thursday. USA.
