Crime stories are the dominant dramatic fuel that long have kept the collective television engine running, whether we’re talking about old-fashioned procedurals on network TV or the never-ending flood of true-crime documentaries and “inspired by real-life events” streaming series.
The Fox anthology series “Accused” would seem to have all the ingredients of a solid and long-running hit, from the pedigrees of the producers to the compelling elevator-pitch premise to the impressive roster of guest stars and episode directors — but based on the five episodes (of a 15-episode first season) provided to critics, this is a grim and almost robotically formulaic effort that rarely skims beneath the surface in each self-contained, one-hour (minus commercials) story.
