Tonight (May 10) at 10PM, NBC is showing a special sneak preview of their new series Believe. Coming from recent Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron and the latest is a run of shows executive produced by J.J. Abrams, Believe features a very special girl who goes on a journey with someone who is there to protect her. Here’s how NBC describes it:
SERIES PREMIERE – THE POWERS OF A YOUNG GIRL MAY DETERMINE THE FATE OF OUR WORLD IN A THRILLING SUPERNATURAL ADVENTURE FROM EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS J.J. ABRAMS AND ALFONSO CUARON — Since she was born, Bo (Johnny Sequoyah) has had gifts she could neither fully understand nor control. But now that she is 10, her powers have become stronger and the threat from malevolent forces that would use her abilities to control the world has grown more dangerous. With her life and future in jeopardy, Bo’s protectors turn to an unlikely source to keep her safe – Tate (Jake McLaughlin), a wrongfully imprisoned death row inmate who’s lost his will. Tate and Bo begin an extraordinary journey, changing the lives of everyone they meet as they keep moving to stay one step ahead of the sinister forces after Bo’s power. The series also stars Delroy Lindo, Kyle MacLachlan, Jamie Chung and Arian Moayed. The pilot episode is directed by Alfonso Cuaron.
So, is it any good? It ultimately depends on where this journey leads for Bo and Tate. Personally speaking, upon hearing of this concept, I was reminded a little of one of my favorite short-lived series of all time, the ABC series Starman starring Robert Hays and C.B. Barnes, which was a staple of my weekly TV watching back when my age was still in the single digits. (That also brings up another question: Why air a series with a powerful young protagonist at 10PM, when the content might be too dark or it might be on too late for a young person to enjoy it? But I digress…) I like the notion of Bo being something more, and the associated danger with people looking for her could prove to be very interesting.
There’s some sparky dialogue between McLaughlin and Sequoyah as Tate and Bo, and I’m hoping we get to learn more about Kyle MacLachlan’s character as the series progresses. But ultimately — and I predict audiences will feel the same way — I ended the program with “It’s okay. Now what?”
The show was certainly enough to grab me so that I’ll be curious to see Week 2. But that might be the decider. NBC could always use some more genre hits, so hopefully this will do well, especially when it moves to its usual Sunday slot.
Ultimately, Believe isn’t an immediate grab for me the way that Starman was (and still is), but even that may not be enough. After all, Starman did only last a year… will Believe fare better? We will have to wait and see. We’ve seen so many TV and movies by now with people who have special powers, that this one is really going to have to create some “wow” factor to sustain.
Believe premieres tonight at 10PM on NBC. Here are some promotional images from the pilot:
