Are you up to date on all things television?
There are only two episodes left in what has become a shocking fourth season of AMC’s killer treat, “The Walking Dead.” NBC’s exciting thriller “The Blacklist” continues to wow and also has just two installments remaining. I’m also still thinking about my marathon binge of the second season of the Netflix original series, “House of Cards.” I think it left me in a state of shock (KNOCK, KNOCK. That’s an inside joke fans will understand).
What I’ll talk about today, however, is “Crisis,” the new NBC drama that also flaunts a mix of crime, intrigue and law enforcement set in Washington, D.C. The pilot premiered Sunday.
According to the show’s official website, “Crisis” revolves around a conspiracy with the goal of bringing “the most powerful people in the world to their knees ...” by “threatening what they hold most dear.”
The pilot kicks off on “field-trip day for the students of Ballard High, a school that educates the children of Washington, D.C.’s elite, top-of-their-industry CEOs, international diplomats, political power players, [and] even the president’s son.
“But when their bus is ambushed on a secluded rural road, the teenagers and their chaperones are taken, igniting a national crisis. Now, with some of the country’s most powerful parents at the mercy of one vengeful mastermind, the question arises: How far would you go and what would you become to ensure your child’s safe return?
“With so many parents and dignitaries put into play with nowhere to turn and no one to trust, the unthinkable grows from the select families at risk to an entire nation at stake.”
There are many factors that made the “Crisis” pilot well worth watching. The debut episode had great timing and pacing, plenty of suspense and interesting characters. I spotted a few predictable elements, but was satisfied when showrunners tried to twist these in unexpected ways.
Gillian Anderson plays the powerful CEO of a global IT company whose daughter has been taken. Dermot Mulroney is our wild card, a dad chaperoning the field trip whose true motives remain unclear. Australian actress Rachael Taylor is highly watchable as an FBI agent trying to mitigate the disaster, and Lance Gross portrays one resolute rookie Secret Service agent determined to rescue the child hostages.
The trick now will be longevity. How long will our high-schoolers be held hostage? Too long, and we’ll get bored. Not long enough, and the show may lose momentum. And how long can we be kept in the dark about who is orchestrating this crisis?
We’ll find out.
All in all, I’m a fan!