‘Ultra City Smiths’ Review: New York Neo-Noir, With Plastic Dolls
The creator of “Patriot” and “Perpetual Grace Ltd.” delivers another show not quite like any other.If you’re looking for something different on television, an exotic bloom amid the endless rows of spider plants, the writer and director Steven Conrad presents an interesting case. His previous series, dark-comic pastiches of the spy thriller (“Patriot”) and the contemporary western (“Perpetual Grace Ltd.”), didn’t feel unfamiliar, both because they’re faithful to their sources and because there are plenty of other high-concept genre workouts on offer. On the other hand, Conrad is a talented and distinctive writer, and his shows have had an idiosyncratic mix of mournful humor and cool absurdism that has set them apart, and inspired a cultish devotion. More