The hole in the middle: 16 shows whose lead characters are their least interesting

Boardwalk Empire has all of the elements of a top-tier pay-cable drama: a stellar cast, a compelling premise, a creator who worked on , gorgeous set design, and, of course, gratuitous nudity. The show even has a central mystery, so why isn’t it a better show? Part of the answer might be in its lead, Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). As a glad-handing politician amid gangsters, showgirls, and overzealous prohibition agents, Nucky’s instinct is always to smooth over tension, while the hotheads around him tend to escalate it. That keeps the show from turning into a bloodbath, but it also sets Nucky up as a counterpoint to leads like Tony Soprano, Don Draper, and Walter White, who exist mainly to stir the pot. Buscemi is a terrific actor, and he gives Nucky a wry sense of humor, flashes of menace, and a sense that he’s one step ahead of everyone else. But he also tends to be the calm center of the storm, and calm doesn’t always make for great drama or a compelling character.