Jake McLaughlin
Delroy Lindo
Kyle MacLachlan
Jamie Chung
Johnny Sequoyah

Created by:
Alfonso Cuarón
Mark Friedman

2014
Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
NBC
TV-14

“Believe” is a show that’s executive produced by Alfonso Cuarón and J.J. Abrams and was created by Cuarón and Mark Friedman. Friedman was the original showrunner (he left the show) who was replaced by Dave Erickson, who was then replaced by Jonas Pate and Hans Tobeason: Danger alert?

In the pilot, we’re introduced to a little girl who has special powers and a man who’s in prison. (He was wrongfully convicted, by the way.) The man, Tate, is broken out of prison by a group of people who protect the girl, Bo. This group wants Tate to become the girl’s new protector. Later on, it’s revealed that Tate is Bo’s biological father; but neither of them is aware of this. So, the success of “Believe” will likely depend on how successful the writers are at developing that relationship.

They have a uphill battle: The concept of a surly male adult in charge of a child is not a new one, so it can wear thin quickly. Also, Jake McLaughlin, who plays Tate, strikes the same note over and over in the pilot: constant yelling. That works in the opening scene, when Delroy Lindo’s character helps Tate escape death row; but it wears thin afterward. McLaughlin should take a look at Karl Urban’s work in “Almost Human” for guidance; surly characters require nuance, even more so than others. You have to carefully pick and choose your spots when you really let us have it. At other times, you need to be aloof, sarcastic, and so on. As Bo, Johnny Sequoyah is passable; but she’s no Haley Joel Osment.

I hope that the two of them can make things work, because “Believe” has some good ideas. Furthermore, I’m glad that they will introduce more characters with powers, likely for good and for bad. Plus, this is a J.J. Abrams show, so there will be much more to the story than it seems. Also, Cuarón directed the pilot, so it looks great: It has a look reminiscent of “Children of Men.”

In addition to Lindo, McLaughlin, and Sequoyah, the cast includes Jamie Chung and Kyle McLachlan as the main villain. Unfortunately, Sienna Guillory, who played a female assassin sent to capture Bo by McLachlan’s character, left the show after filming the pilot; she looked promising. Also, Rami Malek was, sadly, only hired for the pilot.

“Believe” is intriguing enough, for now, but the central relationship is on shaky ground. …

The second episode shows a bit more progress; the relationship between Tate and Bo settles down a bit, and the writers don’t spend too much time on one piece of the story line. While the second episode isn’t stellar, we may have something here … or maybe not. The third episode goes back to being pretty bad. The writing lacks magic; it’s completely ordinary, or even worse. … And the fourth episode is more of the same: Tate and Bo argue; Bo must help somebody; the FBI and MacLachlan are on the chase; the FBI draw their weapons on them in the presence of cars; and Lindo tries to keep Tate and Bo out of the authorities hands. Yawn. I’m done. I see why the showrunners were changed twice.

Verdict: Whatever to Pretty Bad

About: (Source: believe)

Levitation, telekinesis, the ability to control nature, see the future… since she was born, Bo (Johnny Sequoyah) has had gifts she could neither fully understand nor control. But now that she is 10 years old, her powers have become stronger and the threat from malevolent forces that would use her abilities to control the world has grown more dangerous. With her life and future in jeopardy, Bo’s protector, Milton Winter (Delroy Lindo, “The Chicago Code”), turns to an unlikely source to keep her safe – Tate (Jake McLaughlin, “Crash”), a wrongfully imprisoned death row inmate who’s lost his will.

Tate and Bo begin an extraordinary journey, one in which trust must be earned. On the run and traveling from city to city, every place they stop and everyone they meet will be changed forever. But they’ll have to keep going to stay one step ahead of the sinister forces after Bo’s power… because it will take a miracle to keep them safe forever.

Also starring are Jamie Chung (“Once Upon a Time”), Arian Moayed and Kyle MacLachlan (“Portlandia,” “Desperate Housewives.”)