NEW YORK (CNS) -- At first glance, "Pennyworth," a limited series drama on the premium cable channel Epix, seems to be based on a great idea for a TV show.

Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon), familiar as the butler to Bruce Wayne (aka Batman), is given a backstory as a former British Special Air Service (SAS) officer-turned-security consultant in 1960s London.

Despite its fetching premise, the 10-episode show -- which debuts Sunday, July 28, 9-10 p.m. EDT, and will remain in that time slot throughout its run -- turns out to be a major disappointment. Tedious and dreary, it's also unnecessarily gruesome.

Bruno Heller developed "Pennyworth" and writes it along with Danny Cannon. The duo also collaborated on "Gotham." Similarly themed, and with overlapping characters, that DC Comics-inspired series ran on Fox for five seasons, ending in April.

"Pennyworth" opens as its protagonist is trying to convince two fellow SAS veterans, Deon "Bazza" Bashford (Hainsley Lloyd Bennett) and Wallace "Dave Boy" MacDougal (Ryan Fletcher), that he's in earnest about establishing his own firm. But they're skeptical.

Better than most, these soldiers know Alfred has been literally and figuratively scarred by his wartime experiences. At 26, furthermore, he still lives at home with his butler father (Ian Puleston-Davies) and his mother (Dorothy Atkinson) -- to neither of whom the script gives a first name.

Having grown up in in the Poplar neighborhood of London's rough-and-tumble East End, a district PBS fans will recognize as the setting of the more genteel drama "Call the Midwife," Alfred possesses limited prospects. But his stint as a bouncer at a nightclub featuring sparsely attired go-go girls proves fortuitous professionally and personally for the ambitious, determined young entrepreneur.

There, Alfred encounters a dancer named Esme (Emma Corrin). The daughter of an Anglican vicar who aspires to be a serious actress, Esme quickly becomes the love of Alfred's life, despite their class differences.

It's also at the nightclub that Alfred meets American billionaire Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge) for the first time. He introduces Alfred to lucrative yet dangerous work.

"Pennyworth" showcases an exceedingly high level of mayhem, including combat violence related in flashbacks and multiple scenes of torture. The program also features a fair amount of nudity and sexuality, some of it gratuitously lewd.

A same-sex romance requires discernment on the part of mature viewers well-grounded in their faith, while the salty language characters employ becomes cruder as the series progresses.

No one will ever accuse Heller and Cannon of being too subtle. If blood can be splattered, severed heads displayed or faces shot clear off, viewers will see it plainly. They should spare themselves the spectacle.

"Pennyworth" is, nonetheless, stylishly produced and visually handsome. The romance between Alfred and Esme, moreover, although out of character with the rest of the series, is nicely played.

Their relationship accurately reflects any young duo's struggle to discover who they are as individuals while learning to overcome differences and mesh as a couple. The premarital physical intimacy in which they engage, however, is another aspect of the plot calling for evaluation in the light of church teaching.

Whatever good intentions and positive qualities can be discovered in the show, they're ultimately overwhelmed by its crassness and excessively graphic portrayal of strictly adult material.

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Byrd is a guest reviewer for Catholic News Service.