Review: ABC's Charmless Grand Hotel Will Leave You Desperate to Check Out

Daytime soap operas are a breed unto themselves. Benignly addictive, they compensate in volume for what they lack in originality and talent. But in order to survive in prime time, especially amid so much competition, a soap needs to be better than that: to land as twisty, tawdry fun rather than as a rote rehash of tropes, the show must hook us with a killer cast--even if it's just one scene stealer. Dynasty had Joan Collins. Beverly Hills, 90210 had Luke Perry and, for a while, Shannen Doherty.

Daytime soap operas are a breed unto themselves. Benignly addictive, they compensate in volume for what they lack in originality and talent. But in order to survive in prime time, especially amid so much competition, a soap needs to be better than that: to land as twisty, tawdry fun rather than as a rote rehash of tropes, the show must hook us with a killer cast--even if it's just one scene stealer. Dynasty had Joan Collins. Beverly Hills, 90210 had Luke Perry and, for a while, Shannen Doherty.