Tonight, ABC will premiere Scoundrels. Set to precede The Gates, this drama series follows a family of criminals and the changes they’re forced to make when one of their own gets locked up for their misdeeds.
There are occasions when a TV pilot will start out by throwing you into the action within the first five minutes so that you’re hooked right away or at the very least, you get a taste of what the series is all about. About a quarter of the way through Scoundrels’ first episode, I started to have my doubts about the show as I wasn’t sure where (if anywhere) the story was going other than demonstrating that these people are kind of a mess. But as it turns out, Scoundrels isn't a pilot that jumps right into the mix, but instead starts out by slowly introducing each of the characters and taking its time to build-up to what the show is really about. Once we’re given a sense of who the Wests are and how they live, that’s when things change and the story really begins.
When I read the premise for Scoundrels, FX’s The Riches immediately came to mind. While I wasn’t a regular viewer of that series, I do recall it centering on a family of con-artists. There may be more comparisons to be made between ABC’s new drama and The Riches, but I’ll leave that to those who followed the FX series all the way to its end. In the meantime, what we have in Scoundrels is a family that is getting by on cons, thievery and other bits of illegal activity. In case you’re wondering if these are bad people, I’ll leave that to you to decide but it’s established early on that they do have a family code, which includes not condoning acts that some consider to be more heinous than others, like beating up old ladies. In other words, they don’t kill or sell drugs or do anything unforgivably despicable. Their immoral acts tend to involve things like ripping off overpriced hotels and finding other ways to skim money or goods from people or establishments that may or may not have it coming. There’s a line that’s drawn which puts them into the less evil category of bad-guys.
When the leader of the West family, Wolf (David James Elliott) is arrested and sentenced to five years in prison, wife Cheryl (Virginia Madsen) is forced to take over the family business and attempt to get things back on track for her family, which includes her brainy but sneaky daughter Hope (Vanessa Marano), the beautiful but flaky daughter Heather (Leven Rambin), Cal (Patrick John Flueger), the scruffy, loser-ish son whose following in his father’s footsteps and Cal’s twin brother Logan (also played by Patrick John Flueger), the one family member who appears to be on the straight and narrow path as he’s about to be a lawyer.
While we assume that Wolf is the one holding everything together, the pilot episode of this series demonstrates that Cheryl knows how to handle her family. Maybe that was always the case or perhaps she let Wolf do most of the parenting before he was sent away. Regardless, she’s in charge now and when push begins to come to shove as she starts to see how badly things have been unraveling for her kids, she's forced to make a decision about the future of the family business. It is at this point where the episode ends and this is also the point where things start to get interesting.
Among the more recognizable of the cast is Leven Rambin, who played Sloan in Greys Anatomy as well as Riley in Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles. Vanessa Marano appeared in a number of TV shows, including Dexter and Gilmore Girls, but I recognized her right away from her role as Franchesca in one of my favorite one-season-wonder shows The Comeback.. Patrick John Flueger, who plays Cal West, starred in The 4400. Cheryl West is played by Virginia Madsen, whose credits include Justice League, Smith and American Dreams. Finally, 24 fans will recognize Sergeant Mack right away as he’s played by Carlos Bernard (who played Tony Almeida in multiple seasons of 24).
The West family certainly isn't The Camdens. In fact, they're sort of the opposite of the 7th Heaven brood and maybe people looking for something more obviously heartfelt won't be able to appreciate what's good about the Wests underneath their conniving, mostly-self-serving natures but we get a glimpse of it in the first episode and if there's more where that came from, this could be a great series. I went into Scoundrels somewhat indifferent about the plot and moderately skeptical about the interest people might have in a show like this but by the time the episode wrapped up, I found myself wanting more, or at the very least, curious enough about the direction the show is taking to tune in again.
Scoundrels premieres Sunday, June 20, 9:00-10:00 p.m., ET on ABC.
