A Monotonous Cat-and-Mouse Game on Netflix's Western 'Godless'

With more and more new TV shows sprouting up, the era of the "consensus" show falls further back in the review mirror. "Game of Thrones" is barreling towards an end (don't worry, HBO promises spinoffs!), "The Walking Dead" is facing its lowest ratings in years and "Westworld" is taking its time to return to the airwaves. There's currently a void in the TV landscape for a meaty and prestigious drama to dominate and control the cultural conversation.

Netflix recently found success with the second installment of "Stranger Things." Like its first season, the nostalgic sci-fi series boomed when it debuted over Halloween weekend, and Nielsen's new Netflix ratings service found 15.8 million people watched the show's first episode over the first three days it was made available, according to The New York Times. But it's been a few weeks since "Stranger Things" Season 2 debuted and though the show exists on an infinite plane of consumption, online chatter and coverage of the show is starting to slow down.

The new Western miniseries "Godless," which will debut all seven episodes Nov. 22 on Netflix, has the hallmarks of some of the biggest prestige shows of late, and, on paper sounds like the perfect drama to captivate a mass audience.

Created by Scott Frank and Steven Soderbergh (the pair found success with 1998 crime-comedy "Out of Sight"), "Godless" is set in New Mexico in the early 1880s and follows dangerous outlaw Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels) as he hunts down his prot�g�e Roy Goode (Jack O'Connell). Though the pair had a father-son relationship, things go south after Roy breaks up a robbery led by Frank and his murderous gang and steals Frank's loot. Roy ends up hiding out at a ranch belonging to widower and outcast Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery), located near the mysterious mining town of La Belle, which is largely run by women after most of the men died. On top of that, local law enforcement, like La Belle Sheriff Bill McNue (Scoot McNairy) - who is slowly losing his eyesight - and Santa Fe Marshal John Cook (Sam Waterston) are on the hunt for Frank and Roy.

"Godless" starts off promising and the first 15 minutes of the first episode are wild: After being shot in the bicep, a doctor has to saw off Frank's arm. A wounded Roy (he's been shot in the throat) undergoes graphic treatment for his injuries. Marshal John Cook comes upon a town fallen victim to Frank's gang (everyone is dead, buildings are destroyed and the camera shows a graphic shot of a little boy being hanged) and we're introduced to Sheriff McNue with his face covered in feces - a Native American remedy to cure his blindness. It's a lot to take in but, unfortunately, "Godless" blows its weird load in these opening moments and the rest of this 7-hour-plus miniseries is a monotonous and aimless cat-and-mouse game.

Pacing is the show's biggest problem; episodes have the momentum of molasses. It doesn't help that most episodes clock in with a runtime well over a full hour - some close to 80 minutes. Although "Godless" is a one-and-done seven-episode miniseries, it's still a lot of time to commit, and this dusty western does not lend itself well to a binge watch. Episodes blend as Frank and his gang hunt down Roy, who spends his time at the ranch with Alice, her son and his grandmother. Scenes go on far too long - like when Roy tries to teach Alice's son how to ride a horse, resulting in confusing and fully boring stretches.

"Godless" also falls into the tired and played-out trappings of prestige dramas: Difficult men with troubled pasts trying to do the right thing. Daniels phones in his performance as the notorious, bloodthirsty Frank, who is fearless and feels invincible because, as he says, he's seen his own death and knows when it's coming. He'll lead his men into battle and is hell-bent on finding Roy for double-crossing him. O'Connell, as the young outlaw with a heart of gold Roy, is muted as he is held up in the isolated location.

"Godless" goes for epic but it is a limp western with cringe-y dialogue: "It's a fearful thing, to love what death can touch," "There's something I gotta finish," "I'm bad luck" - these quotes are just in the trailer.

Though the western doesn't work, there's a decent chance it can find success on Netflix. Earlier this summer, critics panned the "Breaking Bad" lite drama "Ozark," starring Jason Bateman and Lara Laura Linney. But it nevertheless found an audience (even Drake is a fan!) and the tide of opinion quickly shifted. It didn't take long for the streaming service to renew it for a second season. The same goes for the criminal family drama "Bloodline" - a brooding and atmospheric snooze-fest of a series that lasted three seasons, thanks to an outcry from rabid viewers.

"Godless" may be a slow and dull western but there's no telling if it will strike a chord with Netflix's subscribers. If you want to watch over seven hours of a one-armed Jeff Daniels shouting on horseback in the 1880s New Mexico, then "Godless" is definitely the show for you.