Toni Collette
Dylan McDermott
Tate Donovan
Quinn Shephard
Mateus Ward
Billy Brown
Sandrine Holt
Rhys Coiro
James Naughton

Developed by:
Alon Aranya
Jeffrey Nachmanoff

2013-2014
Drama, Thriller
CBS
TV-14

I started watching “Hostages” because of Toni Collette. Then, I continued to watch it because I wanted to see how the writers would try to continue to develop a story that has absolutely no room for growth. This ain’t a good show. “Hostages” is repetitive and implausible. But, it’s also not a bad show. It’s stuck in a holding pattern.

The writers have milked this story for all it’s worth, which isn’t much. Actually, “Hostages” would’ve made a better film. However, in the protracted format of television, every actor seems to be pretending to be in a thriller, instead of actually being in one. (There are a few exceptions here or there, though, especially during the first half of the final episode of the first, and likely last, season.)

Here’s the bottom line: “Hostages” simply lacks dynamics. At least the acting isn’t over-the-top, though. By the way, Dylan McDermott really needs to get on-voice … really.

Verdict: OK

About: (Source: hostages)

HOSTAGES, from executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, stars Emmy Award winner Toni Collette and Golden Globe Award winner Dylan McDermott in a high-octane suspense drama about Dr. Ellen Sanders, a premiere surgeon thrust into a chilling political conspiracy when her family is taken hostage by rogue FBI Agent Duncan Carlisle. Ellen and her family are held captive in their home by Carlisle, a desperate man doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, who orders her to assassinate the President when she operates on him. His highly skilled accomplices include his brother-in-law Kramer, whose loyalty to Carlisle will be tested; quick-tempered and intimidating Archer, an ex-military man with a razor-sharp tongue; and the only woman involved, Sandrine, a mysterious last-minute replacement to the team. With her family’s life in peril, Ellen faces an incomprehensible moral dilemma in order to save her overbearing husband Brian, her secretive daughter Morgan and her not-so-innocent son Jake. In this high-stakes standoff between Ellen and Carlisle, fraught with tremendous national and personal consequences, the choices between right and wrong become even more blurred.