Such a CRUEL SUMMER

 Article first published as CRUEL SUMMER Review on Seat42F.

Tonight, Freeform presents the first two episodes of a psychological thriller series called CRUEL SUMMER. Written by Bert V. Royal Jr. (Easy A), each episode focuses on the events of a single date in three consecutive years beginning June 21, 1993, 1994, and 1995. The same characters played by the same performers are in all three timelines, which makes sense, given the brief spans between them. But the world is drastically different for almost everyone involved in each of the three. The mystery is exactly what happened to propel the changes seen in each subsequent year. And while the broad strokes are outlined pretty early on in the run, the full truth remains to be revealed.

At the start of the first episode of CRUEL SUMMER we meet nerdy Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia, Tell Me Your Secrets), who is celebrating her fifteenth birthday. All she seems to want to do is hang out with her best friends, Vince (Allius Barnes, Thumper) and Mallory (Harley Quinn Smith, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot). She is jealous of the popular girl, Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt, Cloak & Dagger), and covets Kate’s boyfriend, Jamie Henson (Froy Gutierrez, Teen Wolf.)

A year later, as Jeanette turns sixteen, she’s basically taken over Kate’s life, including her boyfriend and friends, having grown apart from Vince and Mallory. That’s strange enough, but Kate is nowhere in sight, and we’re not sure how Jeanette got here. Another year later, as Jeanette is seventeen, things have changed again, with a dark, depressed Jeanette ostracized by everyone and speaking to lawyers. What happened?

CRUEL SUMMER is in no hurry to tell us everything, as that would defeat the purpose of the show. But it is quick to start giving details. By the end of hour one, you may have a pretty good idea of the how and why of Jeanette’s trajectory. At the end of the second hour, which will air back-to-back tonight, you may question the idea you had. This is going to be a convoluted story with many twists, and what seems to be a certainty will likely be proven to be wrong repeatedly.

For instance, I’m not sure if the main character is Jeanette. The pilot is all about her, but on the poster, she shares focus with Kate. And the second half turns its attentions on the popular girl, whose life is far from the perfect Jeanette assumes it to be. It’s easy to hate Kate, until you don’t. But what ultimately ends up having happened will decide if she’s a hero or villain. Jeanette, too, for that matter. The girls are inexorably intertwined, two seemingly similar people with different circumstances starting out.

There is a lot about CRUEL SUMMER that’s enticing. The multiple timelines format has become a bit of a gimmick lately, following the success of This Is Us, but the short jumps between theme her make this one seem at least somewhat fresh.. A good thriller mystery is also a draw, especially one like this that is surely a limited series. Not meaning they won’t do subsequent seasons, but if there are, they’ll need a new narrative. It’s also very squarely a young adult show, which is a popular genre. Beyond that, there are also some very interesting things to think about as the point of view shifts.

The main drawback is that it doesn’t feel compelling. With few recognizable performers, it probably won’t attract beyond those already watching the network. The acting isn’t bad, but it’s not prestige drama level, either. Many of the cast are young and they’ll likely get better in time, but I don’t think any will be awards bait for this series. So it’s hard to imagine it’ll build steam beyond the target demo. Not necessarily a bad thing, as long as competing with the streaming services isn’t the goal. It’s a decent show that will serve the network’s existing audience, and seems to be airing right where it should be.

CRUEL SUMMER premieres tonight on Freeform at 9PM.

MARVEL'S CLOAK & DAGGER

Article first published as TV Review: CLOAK & DAGGER on Seat42F.

Marvel’s newest drama, airing now on Freeform, is CLOAK & DAGGER. Even if you’re familiar with the comic book version (or, more accurately, versions) of the characters, there are some differences in this incarnation, as is customary with each new Marvel venture. The central dynamic is intact, though, as two individuals develop powers that associate with light and dark. When they combine them, they are more powerful. Just don’t ask how.

As the television show begins, Tandy Bowen is a young girl interested in ballet. Riding with her father one night, their vehicle goes off a bridge. He perishes, but she is hit with a powerful energy wave. At the same time, young Tyrone Johnson watches his brother gunned down by police for a crime he didn’t commit. Diving into the water after his sibling’s body, Tyrone is hit with the same energy wave at the same time.

Jump to years later, Tandy (now played by Olivia Holt, I Didn’t Do It) is a teenage criminal. Living in an abandoned church because she doesn’t get along with her drug-addicted mother, Tandy, with the help of her boyfriend, robs rich people. Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph, The Night Of) seems to have things a bit better, going to a private school and playing basketball. But he’s haunted by his loss and obsessed with revenge against the cop who got away with the murder. When Tandy and Tyrone bump into one another, though, their powers are activated and things begin to change.

One would expect CLOAK & DAGGER’s protagonists to be adolescents, given the target audience and peer programming on Freeform, so that choice makes sense. The show is definitely geared towards that demographic, with romance being soap opera-ed as many a teen drama does, and high school junk crowding into daily activities. Superpowers and some actual issues, drugs and violence, deepen the concept a bit. But at the end of the day, the program embraces more tropes of the genre than it rejects.

This isn’t as much of a detriment as the pacing, though. After a really exciting pilot, the next two hours (I screened both parts of the premiere and this week’s upcoming episode) plod along very slowly, keeping the characters apart as much as possible. Even after they interact, their connection and powers aren’t clear, and CLOAK & DAGGER is more interested in exploring backstory and personal relationships than fleshing them out.

Normally, I would applaud a series who cares about the personalities more than the problems the characters face. Yet, in a show such as this, the premise needs to come along with it, and it doesn’t. Many more questions are posed than answered, but rather than presenting intriguing mysteries that will be solved, the plot seems to gloss over key elements. Presumably some of these things will have to come out as the series goes on, but viewers will be left scratching their heads about the rules of the world they’re watching and unsure as to why they’re being kept in the dark about them. Also, there’s no clear bad guy or shady organization to focus on.

Add to that the CLOAK & DAGGER is created by Joe Pokaski, one of the man responsible for the meandering and disappointing NBC series Heroes, which suffered and never recovered from some of the same shortfalls, and it’s hard to have faith that it will be worth watching.

Both Joseph and Holt seem talented and charming, right for the roles. Their mothers are played by Gloria Reuben (ER) and Andrea Roth (Rescue Me) respectively, and both actresses add a great deal to the story. However, I don’t think even the magnetism of these four will be enough to save a show that is close to being good, but not quite hitting the mark,

MARVEL’S CLOAK & DAGGER airs Thursdays on Freeform.