I understand NBC felt the need to cancel Dracula because I was the only one watching it, and the network needs at least twice those numbers to remain competitive against Netflix originals. But what I can’t comprehend is how NBC finds room on its schedule for nonsense like the new Debra Messing series The Mysteries of Laura.

This looks like the type of series written by a Soviet-era nuclear-control computer after someone spilled coffee on it. In theory, it has everything: Police procedural, wisecracking New York City detective, single mom more or less, generic Negro. But in practice, it has Debra Messing.