The TV Column

USA's deep dreamy Falling Water shows promise

USA’s Falling Water stars (from left) Will Yun Lee, Lizzie Brochere and David Ajala. The new drama debuts at 9 p.m. today and deals with controlling the collective conscience.
USA’s Falling Water stars (from left) Will Yun Lee, Lizzie Brochere and David Ajala. The new drama debuts at 9 p.m. today and deals with controlling the collective conscience.

Today, a couple of old favorites return to The CW and an interesting and intricate new drama debuts on USA. Let's begin with the new show.

Falling Water, 9 p.m. today on USA. In its commercials, USA touts Falling Water as "a mind-bending drama in which three unrelated people slowly realize that they are dreaming separate parts of a single common dream."

The teasers continue: "Each of them is on a mysterious and highly personal quest -- one is searching for his missing girlfriend, one is searching for a lost child, one is looking to cure his catatonic mother -- and it is the clues found in their collective dream that come to guide them."

Is it science fiction or something deeper? Whatever it is, it's something more intricate than the typical TV drama.

Jackie de Crinis, executive vice president for original programming at USA, says in a network news release, "Falling Water captivated us with its cinematic journey and unique exploration into the power of the dream world. It is a thriller that reveals a race to control the collective conscience."

Falling Water will require viewers to pay attention as the story unfolds.

"Today's world demands shows that both challenge and reward the audience in spectacular ways," adds Jeff Wachtel of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. "Falling Water is the type of show that can move the needle of popular culture with its thrilling exploration of the dark side of the mind."

That's the sort of enthusiasm expected from corporate spokesmen, but it still rings true.

The series comes from executive producers Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead), Blake Masters (Brotherhood) and the late Henry Bromell (Homeland) and stars Will Yun Lee (Hawaii 5-0), Lizzie Brochere (American Horror Story: Asylum) and David Ajala (Fast & Furious 6) as our three dreamers.

Lee plays Taka, a New York Police Department detective whose nickname is "The Hunch." He's gifted with extraordinary insight that puts him on the trail of a dream-obsessed cult.

For the past seven years, his mother has been in a catatonic state and Taka's life has been consumed by taking care of her.

Brochere is Tess, a reclusive trend-spotter with the uncanny ability to predict the next big thing. She is haunted nightly by dreams of her missing child. Or was there ever a child?

And Ajala portrays the London-born Burton, a "fixer" for a large multinational investment bank known as The Firm. When his lover, the "Woman in Red" (Anna Wood), vanishes into thin air, Burton begins to question everything, including his sanity.

USA notes, "The deeper they dig, the more they come to realize that their missions touch on stakes that are much larger than their individual agendas. That the visions found in their common dream just might hold the key to the fate of the world."

Yeah, there's nothing like the fate of the world to add a little drama to a series.

Legends of Tomorrow, 7 p.m. today, The CW. There are major changes ahead for Season 2 of the spinoff of Arrow and The Flash. Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) is dead, Hawkman and Hawkgirl are departing, the immortal villain Vandal Savage has been defeated and the Time Masters exposed.

The new season will see the introduction of more Justice Society of America characters, including Obsidian, Vixen, Dr. Mid-Nite, Stargirl and Commander Steel.

The first episode, "Lost and Found," is set in 1942 with the mission to protect Albert Einstein from being kidnapped before the Nazis destroy New York with a nuclear bomb.

Supernatural, 8 p.m. today, The CW. It's a return to Thursdays for the 12th season. There will be 23 episodes of the series that sees Sam and Dean (Jared Padalecki, 34; Jensen Ackles, 38) just keep chugging along.

Netflix news. Neftlix has announced that its highly anticipated original series, Marvel's Iron Fist, will premiere March 17. There will be 13 episodes.

The series follows billionaire Danny Rand (Finn Jones) as he fights criminals and corruption in New York with his kung fu mastery and the ability to summon the fiery Iron Fist.

This will be Netflix's fourth live-action adventure series. The others are Marvel's Daredevil, Marvel's Jessica Jones and Marvel's Luke Cage, which are now streaming.

All of this will lead to the main characters of the four series teaming up for Marvel's The Defenders late next year.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Weekend on 10/13/2016

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