The new NBC drama "Kings" debuts Sunday night to mostly mixed reviews. While the critics are not sure what to make of this modern-day version of the Old Testament tale of David and Goliath, they all agree that the show's star — Ian McShane — makes for a compelling presence. Whether the British actor, best known stateside for his Emmy-nominated role as the sly saloonkeeper on "Deadwood," will capture the attention of Emmy voters remains to be seen. Certainly this uniform praise from the press will help his cause.

As Robert Lloyd writes in the Los Angeles Times, "Playing like some weird mix of 'Dirty Sexy Money' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' though I doubt that was the pitch, it is an interesting muddle of a show, smart and silly by turns. It's corny, ponderous, literary, ambitious, obvious and, at the beginning at least, as slow as molasses, but continually re-energized by Ian McShane as King Saul."

Indeed, Lloyd concludes his review with a paean to this veteran actor: "McShane is equal to the script's most extreme theatricality. He's an actor with whom age agrees, his prettiness having fallen away to reveal the substance below, every line on his face conferring an extra degree of authority, amplified by a voice that smacks of Scotch, black coffee and handfuls of earth. Rather like his Al Swearengen on 'Deadwood,' McShane's Silas is a man who identifies his own fortunes with that of his country, to the point that he has no compunction over putting his enemies away. But he's also full of humor and love, and is far and away the best reason to check this odd thing out."

As Maureen Ryan admits in the opening paragraph of her review for the Chicago Tribune, "All 'Kings' had to do was give me an excuse to watch Ian McShane." She goes on to note that, "Happily, this generally well-told tale of a modern-day king and his restive court has more going for it than a charismatic performance from the dependably wonderful 'Deadwood' star. 'Kings' isn't much like anything else on TV, and that’s one of the good things about it. Visually and thematically, however, this tale of royal intrigue does contain echoes of "Heroes,' the series that 'Kings' creator Michael Green worked on previously."

For Robert Bianco of USA Today, the show, "may have manifold flaws, but being run-of-the-mill is not among them. Created by 'Heroes' writer Michael Green, 'Kings' takes the biblical story of David and King Saul and puts it through a Shakespearean sci-fi soap-opera wringer. Much is lost in the multiple washes, but something is gained as well, most notably the sense that you're watching something that isn't like everything else you're watching." And he praises Ian McShane, "in a role that once again showcases his ability to seem ruthless yet charming, and tightly coiled yet only barely under control."

And says Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe, "McShane is the big draw here, and anyone who saw him maul the spotlight as Al Swearengen in 'Deadwood' knows what I mean. He is an actor who, with a relatively still face, can mug for the camera with only his eyes. He brings on the tension, as he whispers cruel and incendiary things, like Iago, into the ears of the members of his court. At times, he makes me think of a silent-film villain. [Susanna] Thompson, too, stiffens her face and goes crazy with the eyes — but next to McShane, even she pales. McShane dresses in a contemporary suit and tie, but you may think you saw him wearing red velvet and a crown. The screenplay, too, gives his lines the mannered ring of ye olde royalty."