Lily Rabe
Barry Sloane
Milo Ventimiglia
Derek Webster
Catalina Denis
Kristen Connolly
Kylie Rogers
Kyle Harrison Breitkopf

Created by:
Soo Hugh

Drama, Sci-Fi
2015-
ABC

TV-14

We see a little girl talking to … no one. She stands in front of a leafy area and wears a bathing suit and an inner tube in the form of a cartoon tiger (I think). She must be talking to her imaginary friend. Her mom certainly thinks so. Mom asks the little girl what her friend’s name is. “Drill,” the little girl replies. Mom then asks whether her “friend” would like to join them in the house for lunch. The little girl says that would be “amenable” to Drill. (Uh oh, big word alert! “Where did the little girl learn that,” Mom thinks.) We see Mom and the little girl walk to the house. The little girl waves back to Drill, and the leaves whoosh around in response. When they enter the house, Mom asks the little girl not to run in the house. The little girl says, “I know, but the game already started.” (The little girl learned the rules of the game from Drill when she was outside. Double uh oh!) Mom’s mobile phone encounters interference as she enters the house. (Triple uh oh!) And, she doesn’t close the door all the way. (!!!) When she exits the foyer, the door opens on its own. (!!!!) Across the street, a bearded man just stands there. (!!!!!) A wind chime sings out in response. (!!!!!!) All of this is accompanied by ominous music: some mix of organs, strings, and woodwinds. …

If that left you wanting more, then ABC’s “The Whispers” is the show for you. If your eyes rolled even a little, then you might want to go elsewhere for your entertainment this summer. I guess this could work, if creator Soo Hugh meant for it to be silly, if she wanted to provide some campy, creepy fun. But I don’t think that’s the case.

Regardless, this certainly isn’t scary enough to be taken seriously. And the FBI investigation plot line seems out of place. The story even manages to include a Defense Department operation in Africa, for crying out loud! This show is trying to be too many things at once. For this to work, much more energy or atmosphere than the pilot displays is needed to hold all of this cuckoo together – I haven’t even described half of it. The pace needs to be either sharper or slower. (And, no, jarring music doesn’t take care of it – not even a little.) It’s not the fault of the actors, though. They do what they can with what they’ve been given. If we and they can’t have fun with this, then what’s the point? Don’t waste your popcorn on this one.

Verdict: Whatever

About: (Source: thewhispers)

We love to play games with our children. But what happens when someone else starts to play with them too? Someone we don’t know. Can’t see. Can’t hear. In The Whispers, someone or something — is manipulating the ones we love most to accomplish the unthinkable. The Whispers is produced by Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Zack Estrin, and Dawn Parouse Olmstead. The pilot was written and co-executive produced by Soo Hugh.

In the country’s center of political power, Washington D.C., several kids have been talking about their imaginary friend. What the parents don’t know is this friend is not as imaginary as they assume. And when the mysterious games they play turn dangerous, FBI child specialist Claire Bennigan is called in to investigate. Is this just a case of children being led down the wrong path? Or is it something far more unsettling… as she searches for the answer.

Halfway across the world, in the middle of the Sahara Desert, Defense Department operative Wes Lawrence unearths a strange, haunting geological phenomenon. Are these mysteries connected? The answer will force them all to face their greatest fear. That perhaps the enemy… is already in their homes. As the clock counts down, it’s a suspenseful race to save not only their families, but the world. Before it’s too late.