JJ Abrams launches his latest television venture, Undercovers, into the world. But is it any good? That's what we've been finding out...
Everything that JJ Abrams touches these days turns to gold, whether it’s his Star Trek reboot, Lost, sci-fi series Fringe (which is now on its third season) or upcoming alien movie Super 8. However his latest series, that he is executive producing and directing the pilot for, is, dare I say it, a tad generic.
Undercovers follows the exploits of married couple Steven and Samantha Bloom, former CIA agents and now wedding caterers who quit their former careers five years earlier. However, when their old colleague and friend Leo Nash goes missing on an assignment, they are drafted in to find him.
Now the problem with Undercovers isn’t its cast or its direction, or even its script (which is very fast-paced). It’s the fact that it’s yet another spy series where the male and female leads are partners. We all saw Mr and Mrs Smith (and an attempt to turn that into a series failed), Chuck currently corners the market in spy antics and there are plans to turn True Lies into a weekly show. So why should you watch Undercovers?
To be honest, I can’t think of a great reason. JJ Abrams arguably resurrected the TV spy genre with Alias and did a good job with the movie Mission: Impossible III, but there is nothing overly original about Undercovers. The two leads are both likeable and attractive and JJ Abram’s script allows for some witty banter, good action and fast-paced adventure. But through it all you just get the impression you’ve seen it all before, from the domestic bickering in the middle of a mission to the overly geeky tech guy overseeing their exploits.
Saying that, Boris Kodjoe (Starship Troopers: Marauder) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw make for very watchable leads, whether they are beating up bad guys or discussing the finer points of ‘sexpionage’. You can only assume that Abrams is a big fan of UK TV to cast Mbatha-Raw, who will be familiar to many viewers from her turns in Spooks, Doctor Who and the terrible Bonekickers. Still, she manages the American accent well and manages to showcase her native accent whilst on assignment.
It’s clear the show will see the married couple face new and exciting international incidents every week and with the pilot seeing them go from Madrid to Paris and Moscow, you can only assume the show has a hefty budget or a decent FX department for all the background shots. However with Abrams busy on Super 8 and then the Star Trek sequel, it remains to be seen whether it can go on without his direction (and lens flares) or gets cancelled, a la Felicity.
Only time will tell if it finds an audience, but for now consider me intrigued, but not yet sold.