Pilot Review: The Messengers

The Messengers (CW)
Premiered April 17 at 9pm

The CW has been on a hot streak lately with three of its new programs this season, but it would be too much to expect that everything the network offered now would be terrific. Enter this show, which has something to do with people being transformed and apparently the devil and the apocalypse. That’s not a premise that seems remotely intriguing to me, but it’s also not one I would have gathered before the end of the pilot episode since there isn’t much clarity or coherence to everything that’s going on. This reminded me of a paler version of “The After,” the Amazon series that was picked up for a full season and then taken off the table before any additional episodes were produced beyond the pilot. I think there might be some compelling elements to this show, but the way that it’s constructed now, there are far too many pieces of the puzzle that just don’t seem worth assembling. The religious aspect is too strong with the preacher with a massive following but a higher power above him telling him that he needs to reel in his individualistic nature, and I can’t imagine that dealing with a custody dispute where the mother and daughter are both now angels, perplexing enough in itself, will prove to be interesting in the long term. I wouldn’t have expected to check back in to this show for another round, and this opening hour did absolutely nothing to make me pause to reconsider that decision.

How will it work as a series? A few of the angels have started to come together, and their own individual journeys will surely start to converge before long. This show is going to have a tough time managing everything and is going to have to depend on its loyal viewers to keep it all straight.
How long will it last? I wouldn’t worry about those loyal viewers since this show got off to an unimpressive start. Airing on Fridays was never promising, and debuting with a reality show starring Cedric the Entertainer didn’t help matters. The CW has enough boda fide successes, and it has no need for this underwatched series to get off the ground.

Pilot grade: D