Star Rating: 3 out of 5
If you can imagine a combination of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and TNT’s “Raising the Bar,” then you’ve got ABC’s new primetime series, “The Deep End.”
With a mixture of personal lives interfering with work, sex, greed and technical jargon, “The Deep End” proves to be slightly disappointing when it comes to its uncreative story line and characters.
The series is centered around a group of four, first-year associates who have been hired at the prestigious law firm, Sterling Law. Matt Long, best known for playing Jack McCallister on “Jack & Bobby,” is Dylan Hewitt. Hewitt is the typical nice guy crusader who is the main heartthrob of the group. He continuously tries to do the right thing, and is sincerely concerned for the best interest of his clients.
Next is Addy Fisher, played by Tina Majorino, former child actor who starred in “When a Man Loves a Woman” and more recently played Napoleon’s love interest in “Napoleon Dynamite.” Fisher is a high-strung, overachiever that tends to let people take advantage of her. She is constantly trying to please others and struggles with handling her stress level.
The third musketeer of the group is Beth Branford, played by Leah Pipes, star of the former series, “Life Is Wild.” Branford is by far the wealthiest of her coworkers, and is the typical rich daughter character.However, she struggles with her decision to join Sterling Law rather than her father’s firm. Her morals and ethics are questioned in the pilot episode, and she chooses to further her career rather than help an innocent client.
Perhaps this is foreshadowing a change in character as the series progresses.
The fourth and final rookie is Liam Priory, portrayed by Ben Lawson. Priory is a womanizing Aussie that tends to mix business with pleasure. He seems to have a one-track mind about women, and is constantly being overheard talking about his conquests. It is surprising that he is able to get any work done, seeing as how he sleeps with clients and co-workers alike.
Along with the main group of four there are six other minor cast members, which were all introduced within the first 10 minutes of the premiere episode. Unfortunately, with the bombardment of introductions all at once, it made it confusing to keep track of the characters’ names and positions.
Another problem is that the show is so fast-paced, that it makes the storyline somewhat hard to follow. Perhaps once the series progresses and each character’s individual story lines develop, it will be easier to understand what is going on.
Of course a primetime drama wouldn’t be complete without the typical sex scenes, because let’s face it, sex sells.
It was a little unnecessary to have two sex scenes in the first episode alone, which leads to the question of what the media is trying to teach the younger, more impressionable viewers. Is it realistic to portray coworkers barely meeting each other for the first time, and then jumping into bed with each other that night?
All in all, The Deep End is a result of a typical, classic TV series formula. There is nothing innovative about neither the characters nor the storylines. The endings are predictable, and show doesn’t seem to offer any unique qualities. It isn’t that the show itself is particularly horrible, but I just can’t see why it is special or how it will stand out from other primetime dramas.
See for yourself. The Deep End airs on Thursday nights at 8p.m.
