To clarify, this article and the ones similar to it are not reviews of this fall/midseason’s pilots (because pilots can change a lot between now and when they broadcast). These are just my first impressions of the not-for-air network pilots that I have been able to screen. I last wrote about The CW’s Containment. Next up: FOX’s Lucifer, which premieres at midseason.
The Premise: Based on the DC/Vertigo comic. Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar has abandoned his throne and retired to L.A., where he owns Lux, an upscale nightclub, and begins assisting a skeptical detective on an investigation after a friend of his is murdered.
The Cast: Tom Ellis (Merlin) as Lucifer Morningstar, Lauren German (Chicago Fire) as Detective Chloe Dancer, DB Woodside (24) as Amenadiel, Rachael Harris (Suits, New Girl) as Kim Martin, Scarlett Estevez (The Massively Mixed-Up Middle School Mystery) as Trixie, and Lesley-Ann Brandt (The Librarians) as Maze
First Impression: Lucifer reminds me very much of two shows currently on the air: The CW’s iZombie and FOX’s Sleepy Hollow. Those aren’t bad shows to be compared to, and Lucifer mainly just shares superficial similarities with them, such as the fact that all three series follow the “skeptical cop and person with super abilities” format and have some type of supernatural connection as well.
What Lucifer does better than both iZombie and Sleepy, though (and I say this as someone who will be putting iZombie on his Top Ten Shows of 2015 list at the end of this year), at least through its pilot, is humor. This a very funny show, one that had the majority of Ballroom 20 roaring with laughter when I saw the pilot at Comic-Con back in July, and even though it does go for an easy punchline here and there and probably overly relies on devil and God jokes, it mostly works because of Tom Ellis and Lauren German. Just like like Sleepy Hollow‘s Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie, Ellis and German have great chemistry, and their back-and-forth is most definitely the highlight of the pilot, the aspect of the series that you’ll remember most.
But while the procedural side of Lucifer works incredibly well, thanks to the characters of Lucifer and Chloe, the success of the more serialized parts of the show remain to be seen. The pilot introduces to Lucifer’s trusted friend Maze (Lesley-Ann Brandt) and his fellow angel Amenadiel (DB Woodside), who appears multiple times to order him to return to Hell, and although neither character is bad necessarily, they do stall the action a little bit and take us away from the fun that is Ellis and German on screen together. There’s more potential with Maze’s character, as she will probably provide an avenue to explore Lucifer’s backstory, but hopefully Amenadiel will begin to feel more like an organic piece of the series in future episodes, as the show ties together its serialized story with its cases of the week.
However, those minor complaints aside, there’s a ton to love about Lucifer, and the positive certainly outweighs the negative. This is a promising new show for FOX, a network in desperate need of another big hit.
My Interest In Watching More: Very high. While it may not be the best pilot I’ve seen so far this year, Lucifer is certainly the most entertaining. Both Ellis and German seem to be having a great time, and their chemistry works incredibly well during this opening hour, as German’s Chloe isn’t boxed into the “serious detective” role and is allowed to show some of her personality as well. There’s a chance that some fatigue could come with watching Lucifer if the show’s writers continue indulge themselves with every possible pun or on-the-nose musical selection, but in the pilot, it works. This is a series that has a sense of humor about itself and doesn’t take things too seriously, especially since it knows the world it’s created and the story it’s telling is pretty bonkers. It’s my kind of show.
Will you be checking out Lucifer when it premieres at midseason? Comment below and let us know.
[Photo via FOX]
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