ABC's much publicized show
The River will premiere tonight, but the question on everyone's mind is, what is it about really? ABC has taken a fairly viral, enigmatic approach to advertising the show, so much is left up to the imagination. Well, here's a basic rundown. The show centers around Emmet Cole, played by
Bruce Greenwood, the producer of a popular nature program. After he gets lost in the Amazon, his family goes to try and find him. The search does not go exactly as planned, and the crew runs into obstacle after supernatural obstacle. If that hearkens back to
Lost just a little too much for you (still sour over that ending are we?) then you may not have too much to worry about. The show is much more about the people in the show, and their interactions with each other, then it is about what it is that they encounter. While shows like
Lost often get bogged down by the details of the antagonist. Origin stories, expository dialogue and voice-over narration often follow.
The River is taking a slightly different approach.
Shaun Parkes will be playing A.J. Poulain on the show, a cameraman in Cole's crew. Much of the camera work in
The River comes from his point of view, from the camera the he uses. So you won't see the guy all that much, but his influence will be everywhere. "Producers didn't want to create a show that was dependent on what a monster looks like," the
actor said about the thematic content of the show, "This isn't
Cloverfield, it isn't
Super 8. It's about a group of people reacting to what's around them." So if you're looking for a change of pace, a character-driven supernatural show, then
The River may be a good jumping off point. I know that we will be watching it, so check out our review later tonight.
The River will premiere tonight at 9 pm on ABC.