Pilot Review: The Catch

The Catch (ABC)
Premiered March 24 at 10pm

If you asked me to cast a show with these two lead characters, I can’t imagine these are the choices I would have made. I don’t think I ever saw Mireille Enos smile during all four seasons of “The Killing,” and for her to play a confident, charismatic private investigator wouldn’t have struck me as a great fit. Peter Krause, on the other hand, usually plays affable types in shows like “Six Feet Under” and “Parenthood,” but he’s far too likeable to be a con man. Despite the strangeness of these castings, both seem to be pretty well-suited in actuality for the parts that they’re playing. I’m equally surprised to see Rose Rollins, who was extremely serious and in a bad mood for most of “The L Word,” just as happy as Enos here in a sympathetic and jolly role. Sonya Walger from “Lost” and “Flash Forward” is a more understandable selection as the woman who is sure to come after Krause’s Ben for not fully disappearing out of Alice’s life. The premise here is intriguing, and I wouldn’t have pegged it as a Shondaland production had I not known about the connection ahead of time, which I consider a good thing since I didn’t make it very far in Shonda Rhimes’ previous series. The early sequence in which Ben pulled off a drop and walked right by his fiancée without her noticing was well-structured, and this show has a fun, light vibe that I think could make it worth watching. We’ll see!

How will it work as a series? Ben showing back up at the end of the pilot was a game-changer, and the notion of him playing both sides should be complicated, confusing, and hopefully interesting. I’d like to see Krause succeed on this show, and even Enos deserves the chance to enjoy herself once in a while. I’m up for at least another episode to see where it goes.
How long will it last? Ratings for the pilot weren’t great, and the second episode has already aired and performed even worse. Reviews, somehow, were poorer, and so I think this one might last the rest of the midseason but that’s about it.

Pilot grade: B