| Arts & Entertainment

The lukewarm series centers on a mix of old and new friends whose lives are changed in a flash when they win a $386 million lottery, splitting the jackpot evenly among the group.

But their troubles swell almost as quickly as their bank accounts, as initial euphoria gives way to marital complications and assorted other problems.

While the lucky circle includes 20 winners in all, the core consists of two couples who have been close since college: Cameron (Jason Gedrick), who, though "happily" married to wife Beth (Sarah Wynter), is still in love with Nina (Lana Parrilla), the wife of his best friend, Peter (Luke Perry). Nina likewise is struggling with unresolved feelings for Cameron. Passion erupts when she accompanies Cameron to the local food mart to purchase the golden ticket.

Then there's Maggie (Jaclyn DeSantis), a big-hearted nurse whose spending spree includes helping patients at her hospital.

There's also Sean (D.J. Cotrona), a relative outsider to the close-knit clique, who works in Beth's florist shop and who wants to avoid the sudden notoriety to keep hidden a checkered -- possibly criminal -- past. Other overnight millionaires include Kimberly (Malinda Williams), a hardworking, single mom, and Damien (Jon Foster), a rebellious teenager who uses his fortune to escape his bossy father and marries a pretty East European mail-order bride.

Despite a promising setup, early indications suggest that the series will focus less on moral dilemmas than on soap-opera melodrama. (The pilot episode contains several sex scenes, adultery themes, and scattered crude language, making it adult fare.)

At least as far this show goes, the root of all evil is mediocre writing.

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DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.