PILOT REVIEW: Deception

DECEPTION

Starring: Jack Cutmore-Scott, Ilfenesh Hadera, Lenora Crichlow, Justin Chon, Laila Robins, with Amaury Nolasco, and Vinnie Jones

Created by Chris Fedak
Written by Chris Fedak, Directed by David Nutter

THE PREMISE
Deception is an interesting new take on a crime procedural because it involves a magician. Illusionist Cameron Black (Jack Cutmore-Scott) is at the top of his game when his secret brother Johnny (also Cutmore-Scott) is sent to jail for murder. Black is convinced an illusionist set his brother up and he teams up with Special Agent Kay Daniels (Ilfenesh Hadera) to find out the truth and also help them solve crimes. Rounding out the main cast is a mix of Black's team and other FBI agents.

THE REVIEW
I'm almost as much a sucker for magic and illusion as I am with time travel (Now You See Me is one of my favorite movies). So I've been excited about this since it was in development last year. I'm happy to report that while the pilot wasn't perfect, I am not disappointed. While I don't mind a good procedural, I'll be the first to admit that they don't usually bring anything new to the table even if they advertise that they do. Deception actually does bring something new here because of the magic element and I hope the show never shortchanges that side of it because not only is it what makes the show a little different, it's also what appeals to me.

Jack Cutmore-Scott is solid in the lead role. The introduction with the magic trick being performed was enjoyable to watch and seemed pretty big budget for a TV show. Cutmore-Scott also has a good chemistry with Ilfenesh Hadera even if its reminiscent of shows like Castle and Elementary with the male-female crime solving team. I was quite intrigued by the initial story of the missing airplane and the possible connection with Cameron's brother. I thought the show got a little bogged down in the second half when it started to feel more like a standard crime procedural.

Going forward, I'm curious how much they will tackle the overall story and how much will be a case of the week type show. I'm completely okay with this being a case of the week show with only small overtones of the overall story. Shows like that like Scandal and Person of Interest in their early days can be quite effective. It can't become a show that gets completely lost in its own mythology. A healthy dose of case of the week with a little bit of ongoing story seems like the perfect mix for a show like this. It also just needs to always keep the illusion side of the crime solving very apparent or else it will lose its... magic.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes. I was happy with the first episode and look forward to more.