The promo for the new show Kevin (Probably) Saves the World reminded us a little bit of the 90s series Touched by an Angel–except star Kevin as portrayed by Jason Ritter isn’t exactly the most angelic representative out there. The promo definitely piqued our interest, as there really is nothing like it out there currently. The dramedy is expected to bring us good feels and a few good laughs too, and the premiere on October 3 gave us exactly that. Jason Ritter does a great job of balancing his character and making us believe that he can save the world. Probably, that is.
The pilot episode starts off with a literal celestial bang, a meteor shower that hits all over the Earth including the area of Kevin’s sister’s house in Tyler, Texas. Kevin has recently moved in after a failed suicide attempt to live with his recently widowed sister, Amy, and her teenage daughter, Reese. It’s a typical story of the charming yet lost middle-aged uncle trying to figure his life out after losing his job and his girl. Thanks to Ritter’s acting, the story line is given more substance and depth than what it appears to be.
The meteor shower causes Amy to be called in by the government because apparently she’s one smart aeronautical engineer professor. We find out that a total number of 35 meteors have crashed into the earth, and while the experts, including Amy, are trying to figure out whether these were weapons or meteors, another meteor actually ends up landing close to their house, the 36th. We find later on that this has significance in the story. Back to Tyler, Texas, both Kevin and Reese rush to the most recent meteor crash site to check the damage. Of course, Kevin touches the meteorite, and before he knows it, he’s waking up inside his car with the addition of the meteorite in the backseat and no Reese. The meteorite is heavy, so Kevin decides to leave it in the car; but then it explodes light before his eyes and next thing you know, there’s a person where there was once a rock.
The person is Yvette, a spiritual guide who ends up knocking Kevin out with the car door. Kevin wakes up in the morning to meeting Yvette in the kitchen, who ends up explaining everything that’s happening to Kevin and to us latently. Kevin is incredulous as Yvette explains that every generation has 36 righteous souls that exist to protect humanity. Kevin is one, the last one matter of fact, since we surmise that the falling rocks from the sky killed off the other 35. It becomes his job, then, to anoint new righteous souls by giving them hugs.
It seems silly, but it’s actually okay. Besides the cheesy spiritual spin on the show, which many people will like, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World gave us a solid pilot episode. It’s greatest strength is in the actors, of course, as they make us believe their stories so easily, regardless of how crazy it might be. So we’ll probably see Kevin in the next episodes try to find the righteous ones. He leaves Amy and Reese after much drama and dialogue, and finds himself somehow hugging a deaf stranger at the airport. According to Yvette, he has to lead a righteous life in order for it all to work out, and it seems to be working out for Kevin for now. Reese chases Kevin at the airport to somehow convince him to come back. Kevin drives Reese home, and there, Amy welcomes her brother back to their home. Next thing we know, butterflies are coming out of closets, and Kevin seems to be in the right place at the right time. We didn’t know we could tolerate butterflies fluttering out of closets until we watched this episode, and we might look forward to more little miracles as such in the next episodes to come. Kevin (Probably) Saves the World airs every Tuesday at 10 p.m. EST on ABC.
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