Fans of “Castle” or “The Mentalist” Should Enjoy “Deception”

Deception” is a new crime procedural from ABC that is a bit unoriginal but might be worth watching anyway. For me it seems like a cross between “Castle” and “The Mentalist”. The main character is Cameron Black who is a world-famous magician whose career is ruined when it is revealed that many of his tricks involve the use of his twin brother Jonathan. Both parts are played by Jack Cutmore-Scott who has been seen recently in Kingsman:The Secret Service and Dunkirk but not much else. The secret is revealed when his brother is in an automobile accident in which a woman is killed. The brother is arrested and jailed but the whole thing may have been a setup.

When Cameron hears the story that the FBI lost a key witness to a case when a private plane explodes in a hanger, he recognizes that in fact the plane did not explode. It was actually a re-creation of one of his illusions where he had caused a plane to disappear. He ends up becoming a consultant for the FBI

The mysterious illusionist who faked the plane exploding is also connected to his brother being framed. He uses his skills as an illusionist to help the FBI catch criminals at the same time working to prove his brother’s innocence.

Black is partnered with FBI agent Kay Daniels played by Ilfenesh Hadera who has been recently seen in Baywatch and Billions. Like “The Mentalist”, our hero uses his skills of deception to con suspects into revealing themselves. But the overall tone of the show is much more lighthearted. Where Patrick Jane was a somewhat mysterious and introverted brooding character, Black is much more gregarious and charismatic. The overall tone seems more like “Castle” in which the hijinks of the outside consultant are often played for laughs. It remains to be seen if Black and Daniels will develop the same sort of chemistry that we saw between Richard Castle and Detective Kate Beckett.

Unlike Castle and Patrick Jane, Black has a team of assistants who help him create the illusions. His main designer is Gunter Gustafsen played by British character actor Vinnie Jones. He is more often cast in the role of a tough guy criminal because of his appearance so it is interesting bit of casting to see him in a part where his big burly stature and rough appearance seem a bit out of place.

As I said in the beginning, there is nothing really new or original here but if you are a fan of “The Mentalist” and or “Castle” then you will probably enjoy this show as well. I’m giving it a very strong rating of “I’m watching it”.

“Good Girls” is Dark Comedy with Heart

Good Girls is a new dark comedy from NBC. Three ordinary housewives try to solve their problems by holding up a grocery store.

It features Annie who is a single mom who works as a checkout girl in a grocery store. She drives a junk car and her ex-husband is suing her for custody of her kid. She has played by Mea Whitman who you will remember as Amber from Parenthood. Her older sister Beth is played by Christina Hendricks who you may remember from Mad Men. Her husband is a used-car salesman who is cheating on her with a bimbo. Their friend Ruby is played by Retta who you may remember from Parks and Recreation. She has a daughter in need of expensive medical care.

The whole thing is played for laughs until they suddenly find out they came away with much more money than should have been there. They were expecting to find $30,000 but instead came away with over a half-million. They soon discover that the grocery is a front for a drug dealing gang who tracks them down and wants their money back. Also the store manager recognized Annie’s tattoo and threatens to turn her in unless she sleeps with him.

Despite the dark situation, this show has a good balance of heart, comedy, and drama. You really feel for the plight of the mother who can’t get the medical care return needs. The peril they face from the drug dealers who threaten to kill them if they don’t return money is very real as is the attempted sexual assault of the grocery manager. So it is very dark at times. As the show proceeds, they get deeper and deeper into trouble and every time they try to get out, things only get worse.

From this description I’ve just given, it doesn’t sound like a very enjoyable experience but for some reason I kind of like it. You find yourself empathizing with the characters and riding along on the journey with them. The comic moments help keep it from being a total downer so in some ways that keeps it from being hopelessly dark.

I didn’t really intend to add it to my list of shows I watch regularly but after one episode I kind of got hooked on it and am anxious to see where it goes from here. I’ve seen two of the three episodes that have aired and I’m going to try a couple more before I decide if it holds up or just becomes a sort of one joke story.

I give it a raising of “Could be watchable” but the jury is still out.

Champions is a loser

Champions is a new sitcom on NBC that is so unremarkable I almost didn’t two bother to write a review. The main character Vince of the New York gymnasium he inherited from his father. He has a rather dimwitted handsome looking brother Matthew who is unaware that Vince is about to sell the gym and move to Florida. His plans are derailed when his old high school sweetheart Priya shows up and reveals to him he has a teenage son he didn’t know about. The son who is gay wants to go to a performing arts school in New York. She lives in Cleveland and can’t afford to move so she needs some wire for the son to live while he attends the special school in New York.

Absolutely nothing is interesting about these characters. The boy Michael is kind of cute in his overacted gayness with lots of showbiz clichés. But other than that there’s nothing to be seen here.

Vince is played by Anders Holm was most recently seen in The Mindy Project. Mindy Kaling plays Priya his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child. The boy Michael is played by J.J. Totah. IMDb lists several TV shows he has appeared in one of which I’ve heard of. He’s probably been on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel or something like that.

Obviously this is a strongly rated “Skip It