'Moonlight' casts dark shadows

High-concept show about a vampire detective keeps getting better.

Moonlight

(CBS, Fridays at 9 p.m.): This moody drama about a vampire moonlighting as a private eye had a rocky start – an uneven pilot and high talent turnover. CBS didn't send out early screeners, so critics have had to watch along with viewers, but the slow build has been worth it. Despite unnecessarily graphic vampire bite scenes and some clunky dialogue, the show has the soul of a horror classic: the tragedy of a man who "went to bed a happily married man and woke up a monster" (his vampire wife turned him without his consent). High-gloss visuals are also a plus. Grade: B – Gloria Goodale