Pilot Review: Cult

Cult (The CW)
Premiered February 19 at 9pm

When two shows with similar themes premiere around the same time it’s hard not to compare them. FOX’s “The Following” began just over one month ago, and while it’s far from perfect, it is considerably better than this. Setting up a show-within-a-show allows for that fictional program to be as over-the-top as possible, but when the real dialogue is actually worse, there’s not much hope. I haven’t heard a catchphrase quite as lamentable as “Hey, these things just snap right off” before, and utilizing devices like the red and blue sunglasses that allow cult members and those investigating it to see secret messages and door handles and such. The concept of a TV show about a cult with a whole layer underneath it that involves actual followers is cool in one sense, but it just plays out as laughable here. The casting of Robert Knepper as the actor who portrays cult leader Billy Grimm is definitely spot-on, and I suspect that he’s actually the mysterious creator Steven Rae. I’d love to see him used productively, but it looks like Jessica Lucas and Matthew Davis, whose resumes include “Life As We Know It” and “The Vampire Diaries,” respectively, will be taking center stage, along with Israeli actress Alona Tal, who portrays the show-within-a-show’s star. Having that show air on the CW gives this show a marketing advantage, but I think its bleak, dark, and miserable-looking nature won’t merit a return visit from most viewers, and certainly not from this TV reviewer.

How will it work as a series? The abduction of the overly enthusiastic producer by the cult suggests that we’ll get a direct pipeline into what’s happening in the real world with the cult, and it’s likely to take Jeff and Skye much longer than it should to find actual evidence of its existence, which Aisha Hinds’ cult-follower detective impedes their progress. I can’t imagine it will have anywhere near enough focus or intrigue to carry through its season.
How long will it last? On a night of little-watched television, this show didn’t make a splash. Its network doesn’t tend to net high ratings, but this premiere was way down from the episode of the now-cancelled “Ringer” that aired in the same timeslot last year. While this show was supposed to debut first, the fact that “The Following” beat it to the air dooms it to certain cancellation, a fate it probably would have suffered anyway. I think the CW will ditch this show pretty soon.

Pilot grade: F