A Man in Full, review: The adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s novel fails to even start a spark, let alone a conflagration.

Big Little Lies’ David E Kelley takes on Wolfe’s novel about a billionaire on the edge, but even Jeff Daniels in the lead can’t make it sing

TFD – Dive into the upcoming debut of “A Man in Full” on Netflix, a series adaptation with high expectations and a stellar cast.

A lot of brilliant people work on “A Man in Full,” a Netflix series that seems to be lacking inspiration. It’s an underwhelming effort. This soap opera about an Atlanta real estate billionaire facing unexpected bankruptcy is adapted from the novel by the late Tom Wolfe, who was well-known for his insight into elites in “The Bonfire of the Vanities.” However, the story barely manages to spark an ember, much less a bonfire.

That’s unfortunate considering the excellent cast, the adaptation by seasoned TV writer David E. Kelley (whose credits include HBO’s “Big Little Lies” and Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer”), directors Regina King and Thomas Schlamme, the pioneer of “The West Wing,” among others.

If only the Southern-fried charm had been toned down a notch for everyone. Jeff Daniels plays the freewheeling Charlie Croker, introduced at a lavish birthday celebration for himself with a musical performance by none other than Shania Twain. Daniels adopts a heavy accent that occasionally sounds a little too much like Foghorn Leghorn.

To his surprise, Croker is soon confronted by a hard-charging and openly hostile banker (Bill Camp) working with an associate (“Ozark’s” Tom Pelphrey) who harbors simmering resentment toward him. They notify Croker that they intend to call in his loans, thus exposing him to the risk of bankruptcy and financial ruin.

That threat essentially sets off a chain reaction of increasingly vicious blows and counterpunches that eventually involve Croker’s friend Lucy Liu, her ex-wife Diane Lane (who recently wrapped up her role as ex-wife in “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans”), and a complex web of interlocking business and political interests, each layer of which is slightly more crooked and corrupt than the last.

A secondary plot in what appears to be a completely different series centers on the husband of one of Croker’s employees, Conrad (Jon Michael Hill), who is arrested following an altercation with an aggressive police officer, and Croker’s attorney, Aml Ameen, who tries to assist him.

“A Man in Full” certainly doesn’t suffer from a lack of drama, but the six-episode first season feels overcooked in a way that recalls the soap operas of the 1970s and ‘80s, somewhat awkwardly tossed with a more modern garnish involving race and the justice system.

Kelley has been extremely prolific with recent literary adaptations – including an upcoming version of Scott Turow’s “Presumed Innocent” – benefiting from the appetite for the combination of marketable titles and proven talent in the streaming age.

Granted, “A Man in Full” does look better held up against the notoriously awful 1990 film version of “Bonfire of the Vanities.” Still, mark that down as damnation with faint praise for a series that adds up to considerably less than the sum of its parts – a time investment, in banking terms, that simply doesn’t pay off.

On May 2, “A Man in Full” will debut on Netflix.