Each week, I take a look back at a pilot from the 2010-11 season, first reviewed on my blog during that season. This week, I am looking at NBC's promising but ultimately failed Undercovers!
The Details:
Premiered: September 22, 2010 on NBC
Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Boris Kodjoe, Ben Schwartz, Mekia Cox, Carter MacIntyre and Gerald McRaney
Created by: JJ Abrams and Josh Reims
What I Thought Then:
"The show comes with a lot of pedigree and expectations considering the creator, and the pilot shows promise, but ultimately doesn't live up to the hype."
"The good parts include the chemistry between the two leads... the bad parts included the fact that the first half hour was incredibly slow moving."
"The writers will need to keep the stories fresh and cut down on the bad dialogue."
"Undercovers was ultimately underwhelming as a pilot but promising as a series."
What Others Said:
"With dazzling action scenes and a pair of stars who ooze charm and sensuality, Undercovers easily overcomes its predictability." - Glenn Garvin, Miami Herald
"Lighter than Alias but not nearly as much fun as Chuck, it's serving a couple who are maybe a little too good to be true, whether they're freeing a fellow spy or heating things up in the bedroom." - Ellen Gray, Philadelphia Daily News
"It's like the biggest budget USA Network show you ever saw, fun to watch but rather forgettable, because the stakes just don't feel all that high." - Matt Roush, TV Guide
"Maybe Abrams just ran out of energy drinks that week. This is a poor caper show that doesn't even deliver half the surprises of TNT's Leverage." - Mark A. Perigrad, Boston Herald
"The light-hearted international espionage series is predictable, pointless, and worst of all, cutesy." - Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe
What I Think Now:
The thing that struck me the most while watching this pilot again was how sleek network drama pilots used to be. There was a lot of money poured into this pilot and you can tell. The money used to be there for networks to do big budget pilots and this was just one of many examples. But all the glitz and glamour can't save the pilot from being a run of the mill spy story that we've seen a million times before. The most obvious inspirations for this show seem to be Hart to Hart or Mr. & Mrs. Smith and the show tried to capture the sexy fun of those properties, but it mostly fell flat. A few lingering glances between stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Boris Kodjoe and some whispering, double entendre dialogue was not an excuse for actual chemistry and heat. The actors are partly to blame but the writing (which included JJ Abrams) was more to blame. Mbatha-Raw and Kodjoe looked good together but they didn't have any actual chemistry (despite what I said in 2010) and the whole show fell apart because of that. It's all style and no substance. I had forgotten Ben Schwartz was in this show and it's a little weird seeing him in his Jean-Ralphio era in a different role. Gerald McRaney was solid as always but not given much to do in the pilot.
What Happened to the Show:
J.J. Abrams was a pretty big name for TV shows in 2010 so this show got a lot of pre-premiere attention for being the first pilot directed by Abrams since Lost in 2004 (incidentally, he's yet to direct for TV again and didn't write again for TV until Duster last year). It also was notable for having two black leads, which was still sadly rare on network TV in 2010. NBC was trying to rebuild in their post-The Jay Leno Show season and launched a lot of new shows in Fall 2010. Undercovers was given the 8pm Wednesday lead-off slot to lead into Law & Order: SVU. Many anticipated at least a strong premiere given the pedigree of Abrams, but that didn't happen. Reviews were tepid (63 on Metacritic). The premiere numbers were surprisingly soft and it only dropped from there. The show was cancelled on November 4 after airing just seven episodes. Four more were burned off after the cancellation through November and December. Of course, Kodjoe and Mbatha-Raw have had plenty of work since then and TV has continued to try the sexy spy drama time and time again to mixed success at best.
Final Episode: December 29, 2010
Episode Count: 11 + 2 unaired
Where to Watch: Not currently available
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