The guy behind Fox’s “The Following” is clearly in need of a hug.

I don’t mean the half-assed nudge a seven-year-old gives his grandmother under the threat of a week without television. Kevin Williamson — the same guy who brought us the sometimes-alright “Scream” saga — needs a warm, compassionate embrace. If his prime-time drama is any indication, the guy must be going through a rough time.

“The Following” is undoubtedly one of the coldest, most cynical dramas to premiere in more than a decade. The writing lacks humanity and voice. Gratuitous gore is used in an effort to establish credibility. Characters often project a negative view of the world.

But what’s really depressing is that this lifeless show has absolutely no saving grace. The reality is made abundantly clear just minutes into the pilot episode.

The series opens on serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) inexplicably walking out of prison. Here, we are led to believe that busting out of a high-security penitentiary is as easy as befriending a guard. But this Carroll guy is not your everyday maniac — he’s a former English professor with a British accent and an affinity for Edgar Allen Poe. He’s, like, super poetic and can convince anyone to do anything at any given moment in time.

Upon Carroll’s escape, disgraced former F.B.I. agent Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) is told that he’s needed — because that’s what always happens in television land. This guy used to be an expert at hunting down guys like Carroll but hasn’t served in years. Now he’s just an alcoholic and wants nothing to do with the F.B.I. However, he willfully throws away this notion and wholeheartedly rededicates himself to the cause.

From that moment on, it’s Carroll vs. Hardy in a battle of wits and brawn — like “Tom and Jerry,” but with less depth. And, sadly, the rest of the characters are just as dull. There’s Carroll’s ex-wife who fears for her life. There are F.B.I. agents who wear suits and say recycled garbage like “You’re unstable!” or “You’re going to blow this whole operation!” Every character in _The Following_ is a cardboard cutout that could topple over from a light breeze.

But perhaps the most asinine aspect of the series, even more than the characters and clichés, is its aggressively implausible premise. The program completely relies on the narrative that while Carroll was behind bars, he found “followers” on the Internet to do his dirty work for him. So now if the F.B.I. catch up with him, they’ll have a bloodthirsty, Myspace-obsessed cult to worry about, too.

I can’t speak for my reading audience, but I like to think if I got a Facebook message from a serial killer, I would probably not respond. At the very least, I would pretend to go offline. If I saw a Craigslist ad that said “Need killers, accept at own risk,” I don’t think I would reach for my chainsaw and pitchfork. But _The Following_, in all of its improbable, trite, murdery awfulness, is just that lazy.

Maybe I’m being a little harsh. Maybe I’m digging too deep into the minor details of Fox’s new serial killer drama. The honest-to-God truth is that I could overlook some of the clichés and implausibilities if it had some freaking life. In this culture we’re living in, a culture that’s become aggressively violent, the subject matter is borderline offensive. It’s a program trapped in cynicism.

I don’t know who hurt Williamson in the past. I don’t know if his high school sweetheart broke up with him over the phone or if his mom didn’t come to his fourth grade soccer games, but shows need someone to root for. _The Following_ needs a discussion of morality like _Breaking Bad_ or maybe a lovable antihero like “Dexter.” It needs something, anything, to give it a little bit of light.

And Williamson, clearly, just needs a hug.