It looks like CBS isn’t ready to let Moonlight go. The network has decided that rather than canceling the suffering new series, which centers on a vampire private investigator on his quest to do some good in the world, they’re going to order four more scripts and see if the series can build a bigger audience.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Moonlight is currently CBS’s lowest rated series. Even squeezing it between Ghost Whisperer and Numb3rs on Friday nights at 9:00 PM doesn’t seem to be helping the ratings.
The Moonlight story focuses on Mick St. John (Alex O’Loughlin), a vampire who works as a private detective. Mick was vamped decades ago by his bride, Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon). She’s been in the show briefly in flashbacks and is presumed to be dead but since Sossamon is included as one of the four main cast members, there’s a good possibility that she’s alive (or technically, un-dead, since she’s a vampire) and will return at some point in the future if the show stays on the air. Mick looks out for all sorts of helpless people but no one more so than reporter Beth Turner (Sophia Myles). Beth knows what Mick is but also realizes he’s a non-threatening Vampire who doesn’t kill to feed and has proven to be a reliable source of information and protection.
Finally, there’s Josef, played by Jason Dohring (Veronica Mars). Josef is another vampire who is also a friend of Mick’s. Unlike Mick, Josef embraces his nature and from what little we’ve seen so far, spends most of his time feeding off hot chicks and being rich. Dohring’s character is as underutilized as Coraline is. While Moonlight is a watchable series, it would probably be a lot more entertaining of there were more of Josef and Coraline (if she really is alive) being badasses and a little less of Mick’s broodiness.
Based on the premise, many would try to compare Moonlight to the Buffy spin-off, Angel but the lack of Whedon-Noxon magic is one of many things that is keeping Moonlight from elevating to the greatness that was Angel. Moonlight isn’t quite a mystery show, nor is it totally a super-hero show. It’s pretty much a mixture of both but there isn’t enough of either genre to give the story enough of a boost to make it a must-watch series. It doesn’t help that Moonlight airs against NBC’s Friday Night Lights. So hopefully those next four scripts will bring a big enough spark to the series to generate a bigger audience.
