On deadline today, so I haven’t had time to write up A&E’s The Cleaner, with Benjamin Bratt. But trust me, the less I write about this baby the happier everyone will be. An overwrought drama about a man who helps addicts get straight as part of a deal with God, it’s part Intervention, part Saving Grace, part every basic-cable summer drama that’s not quite dark enough to be interesting. (Actually, I don’t want to insult Intervention, a gripping reality show which is much more worth your A&E time. Saving Grace I care less about insulting, though I have not yet gotten around to seeing if Grace busted a cap in that dirty old priest on the season 2 premiere.) Bratt’s entire performance seems to involve putting on and taking off dark glasses, acting dark and tortured and generally sounding as if he thinks he’s in a Western.
Check out The Cleaner if you want and report back, but it’s certainly not habit-forming.