Jennifer Beals
David Sutcliffe
Edi Gathegi
Callum Blue
Caroline Kaplan
Annie Thurman
Joe Morton
Matthew Modine

Created by:
Rob Bragin

Drama
2015-
TNT

TV-14

TNT’s “Proof” begins very professionally: The execution is spot-on for a medical procedural, and the use of hand-held cameras makes sense. As Dr. Carolyn Tyler, Jennifer Beals quickly establishes her authority and expertise in the operating room. Everything is no-nonsense. The rest of the cast is well-chosen, too. (Joe Morton is always a welcome sight.) If that was all this show had to offer – a medical procedural with sharp pacing and without any fuss – it would be more than enough. After all, the key to any successful medical procedural is execution. That could be said about any TV show, but it’s especially true for this overcrowded genre. But this show doesn’t end there, it only begins there. …

After its opening sequences, “Proof” gets down to the business of explaining its title. There are hints of that explanation early on. This isn’t just a medical procedural: It’s a show about whether there’s proof of an afterlife. Of course, at first, Dr. Tyler wants nothing to do with that. And, of course, she changes her mind later on. The subject matter is personal for her.

For us, the question is: Will this combination of medical procedural and mild supernatural drama work? It’s somewhere in between NBC’s “ER” and “Awake.” Unfortunately, the first episode does little to inspire confidence in this show’s ability to handle investigations into the possibility of an afterlife. Plus, the shifts between procedural and supernatural are awkward. Outside of the hospital (especially the operating room), the drama is soft and shallow. It’s needs more of a bite. I understand the choice to go softer in those moments, but they go too far in that direction. The result is forgettable. In subsequent episodes, this show will need to mimic its central character’s personality to strike the right balance. While the actors and characters are primed and ready to go, the writing gets in the way. It needs to find a stronger and more consistent pulse. Stat.

Verdict: OK to Somewhat Good

About: (Source: proof)

Jennifer Beals plays Dr. Carolyn Tyler, who has suffered the recent, devastating loss of her teenage son, the breakup of her marriage and a growing estrangement from her daughter. Carolyn is persuaded by Ivan Turing (Modine), a cancer-stricken tech inventor and billionaire to investigate cases of reincarnation, near-death experiences, hauntings and other phenomena, all of it in the search for evidence that death is not the end.