Pilot Review: Safe

Safe (Netflix)
Premiered May 10

Michael C. Hall is an incredible actor who first became known for his role in the ensemble of “Six Feet Under,” and then got to anchor his own show as the undisputed lead and title character of “Dexter.” The successful Showtime serial killer drama went off the air in 2013, and Hall hasn’t appeared on television, aside from a one-episode guest spot as John F. Kennedy on “The Crown,” since. Now, he’s back with his first Netflix show, sporting a British accent that I did not expect to hear. Hall’s strengths on his first two big TV series were to get at the heart of a character who had many secrets and presented a different, more normal exterior to the world. The same is definitely true of Tom as far as the secrets are concerned, though it seems that he’s not the one keeping most of them and that almost everyone around him is hiding something. I go into shows not knowing what they’re about, and watching this pilot didn’t provide my with any quality or answers. It doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be, and I’m surprised that a show starring Hall made it to air with such an unspecific and flimsy premise. The only other cast member I recognized was Marc Warren, who plays Pete, from his much-despised arc on “The Good Wife” as Kalinda’s ex-husband. I won’t be back to find out more about what this show’s title means and why its characters exist - this one fell completely flat.

How will it work as a series? Pete’s daughter is still missing, and now he has reason to suspect that his best friend may have been involved. There are plenty of other messes surrounding him, but not one of them has demonstrated itself to be worthwhile of focus just yet, making this entire setup unappealing.
How long will it last? I still don’t understand why a show with Hall, who fans love from “Dexter,” hasn’t been promoted more intensively by Netflix, with its Thursday launch hardly an endorsement. The reviews seem to be decent, far more so than I expected, and so I guess a second season is possible though hardly likely in my opinion.

Pilot grade: C