CBS tries its hand at, GASP, a new crime procedural!
Co-created by Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files, The Man in the High Castle) and David Vainola, Ransom -- debuting Sunday night before moving to its regular Saturday (!) timeslot -- is CBS’s new take on the inherently tense job of hostage negotiations. The hostage negotiator in this case is the classically handsome and trustworthy Eric Beaumont (Black Sails’ Luke Roberts) and his team from the slick Crisis Resolution—who appear to have very nicely monetized the hostage business. Because he works outside of the law, Eric is able to get away with questionable tactics, which could alienate audiences who aren’t able to suspend disbelief so easily.
Most likely because hostage negotiations already have built-in drama, the show does a commendable job creating tension, although creating memorable and impactful hostage situations each week with characters we actually care about could prove difficult over time. Roberts stands out as Beaumont, who must convince both terrified parents and hostage-takers to trust him—a delicate line to walk that Roberts manages to make believable. Throughout the premiere episode it’s easy to see why anyone would trust Eric with a loved one’s life.
The crack team that assists Beaumont in his profitable venture are newbie Maxine Carlson (Sarah Greene), psychological profiler Oliver Yates (Brandon Jay McLaren), and security specialist Zara Hallam (Nazneen Contractor). The team does work well together, and each of their individual skills feel important to the cause, but none stand out from the group or feel like full characters yet. Other than a few quick quips, they aren’t any more than their job titles in the premiere. Maxine is the newest member of the crew—a fan girl really. She’s obsessed with hostage negotiations, yet also appears to get herself into trouble by flat out ignoring the experts she works with. Perhaps this will improve moving forward but right now I can’t see why she wouldn’t be fired immediately. This is perhaps the biggest flaw in the writing, as Maxine is the character the audience is supposed to enter the world through yet she doesn’t appear to have the smarts or professionalism to be a meaningful member of the team.
The show certainly has the international feel you’d expect from Spotnitz who also recently produced Medici: Masters of Florence in addition to Man in the High Castle (he left mid-way through the latter’s second season). The cities in the pilot felt like “any city Europe” or “any city America” while the bad guys have nondescript European accents. The Crisis Resolution team is called to monetize hostage situations around the globe and you can certainly feel that in the pilot.
In the dangerous world we live in, Ransom won’t feel like the escapism some of the audience might seek - though that’s assuming that sometimes the negotiators fail and lives are actually eventually lost. Mostly, Ransom feels like yet another CBS procedural, attempting to help new cases each week with a nice little bow at the end to tie it up.
The Verdict
Ransom provides tension and intrigue in its premiere but might not be enough to keep interest week to week. The main characters need more to draw the audience in as they mostly just fulfill their job titles in the pilot. However, if you’re just looking for another CBS procedural to casually watch on a Saturday night, Ransom is a solid choice.
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