The good news is, Fox has released a new preview for their upcoming futuristic robot drama Almost Human. The bad news is, we have to wait a couple weeks longer than expected for the series to premiere, as the debut date has been pushed back from Monday, November 4 to Sunday, November 17, when it'll air the first of two episodes that week, with the second scheduled for Monday night during the show's usual time-slot.
As the preview suggests, the series stars Karl Urban, a detective living in the future where cops are being partnered by humanoid robots. An injury puts him out of work for a while, but when John Kennex returns to his job, he's reluctant to be partnered with a machine, which is how he ends up with Dorian (Michael Ealy), a line of the robots that was designed to be especially human. All signs point to Dorian having a better grasp on how to act like a human being than Kennex does, which could make for some great moments in the series, both emotional and humorous. I also like the implication that Dorian is different from the other robots out in the field, and that his emotional reactions are seen as flaws. Maybe being a bit flawed will make him a better fit for Kennex than the other models.
Created by J.H. Wyman, with J.J. Abrams attached as executive producer, the series will follow this man/robot duo as they solve cases, and Kennex attempts to adjust to having a robot partner, as well as getting acquainted with his new co-workers. In addition to Ealy and Urban, the series stars Minka Kelly, Mackenzie Crook, Michael Irby and Lili Taylor.
It's disappointing that we have to wait a couple more weeks for the series to premiere, especially considering this was one of the shows some of us have been most excited about this season, but a Sunday-night debut might not be such a bad thing for the drama in terms of capturing an audience, especially if Fox's sports fans stick around to watch it. And at the very least, we get two episodes in a row that week.
Here's the more extensive trailer that debuted last spring when the series was officially added to Fox's Fall 2013 roster:
Almost Human premieres Sunday, November 17 and Monday, November 18 at 8/7c on Fox. For more information about the series, check out Fox's Almost Human website.
