The Ensemble Age

There’s an even more impressive cast on the same network’s New York–set Six Degrees, including indie film stalwarts Hope Davis and Campbell Scott, Erika Christensen (Traffic) and the appealing Jay Hernandez, who is unfortunately saddled with some truly dopey opening narration about how the person sitting next to you on the subway might be your soulmate. (New singles-getaway idea: Club Metro!) Once you get past this romance-novel nonsense, you’ll find that executive producer J.J. Abrams (Lost) and creators Stuart Zicherman and Raven Metzner have crafted a pleasantly diverting bumper-car drama of chance encounters, new friendships and random triggers that keep six yearning Manhattanites somehow connected to each other, and hopefully not to Kevin Bacon. A show like this thrives and perishes on you buying the believable forward momentum of its domino-like coincidences, and so far I do, although (a) I just knew no one would be able to resist that blasted closing-montage/droning-pop-tune/dumb-voice-over coda shit, and (b) I could have done without Scott’s artistically blocked, principled photographer finding inspiration again by happening upon Iraq-war widow Davis weeping on a stoop. A sap move.

But until that point, it was refreshing to see these intelligent actors bring their gift for flinty reserve, offhand wit and barely concealed melancholy to what could have been an unbearably coy urban fairy story of mystical oneness. I also love that Abrams is shrewd enough of a prime-time showman to include one Lost-like enigma in case he needs to snap viewers to attention: a mysterious box that Christensen’s shady, vagabond hedonist guards with her life. (Lostsecrets in there maybe, ABC? I smell a crossover episode!) In fact, I’m in such a connect-the-dots mood now, I’ll even point out that the pre-TV Abrams popped up in a hilarious bit role in the 1993 film version of John Guare’s play Six Degrees of Separation, playing a college student who reams out his father on the phone for allowing a con artist into their home, for being awful and for, well, everything.

The Nine (ABC/Jeremy Cowart)

Related Content

• With Star Trek Into Darkness, J.J. Abrams Boldly Goes Back to Khan
  May 16, 2013
• Five Artsy Things to Do This Week, Including Memories of a Drive-by Gallery
  January 16, 2013
• Eight Great Shows You Haven't Binge-Watched on Netflix Yet
  March 21, 2013
• How a Star Wars Art Show Came to Be
  January 28, 2013
• Garcetti and Greuel's Worst Days in Power
  May 2, 2013

More About

• Lost (TV Show)
• 24 (TV Show)
• Jericho (TV Show)
• J.J. Abrams
• Tim Daly

“Why you had to bring me into the world!” he screams. Something tells me we won’t be hearing dialogue like that on a show aiming for the swoon-ready Grey’s Anatomy audience. And Grey’s Anatomy is the hospital one, right?

Jericho| CBS | Wednesdays, 8 p.m.

Heroes| NBC | Mondays, 9 p.m. Premiere episode Sept. 25.

The Nine | ABC | Wednesdays, 10 p.m. Premiere episode Oct. 4.

Six Degrees | ABC | Thursdays, 10 p.m.