New TV - Life

This one seems to have slipped under the radar in terms of advance press for the new Fall season, which is a shame because I quite liked it. A cop is sentenced to life in prison for murder, and, after serving 12 years, is released when new evidence clears him. Rather than taking his massive financial settlement and rebuilding his life, he takes his millions and rejoins the police force.

British actor Damian Lewis channels his inner Bruce Willis, playing a character who approaches his new freedom with a zen-like optimism much to the surprise and discomfort of his former colleagues and friends. He's partnered with a discredited female cop, who is doubtful of his ability to reintegrate himself into the force, but is more concerned as to how he will impact on her already shaky record. The show has the procedural element - he is now an outside-the-box thinker whose unorthodox detecting methods raise eyebrows but ultimately get the job done. Lewis sets a nice balance of an odd character whose personality has adapted to betrayal and subsequent exoneration, without overdosing on quirky charm. He is bright yet stunted, socially awkward but offering great insights into human behaviour. He's not quite likable, but definitely sympathetic. It's therefore all the more impactful when it is revealed, that far from moving on, he is doggedly investigating who is responsible for framing him. And everyone, past and present, colleague, friend, superior and relative is a suspect.

This could be a good show, a solid procedural drama setting the framework for a far more interesting background mystery. But I fear that it will be lost in the plethora of new shows and the online previews don't do it justice. This one is almost invisible in the critics' Fall previews and I unfortunately predict that it will be one of the first shows to be dropped. Time will tell.

http://www.nbc.com/Life/