Sneak Peek: Reaper
An Otherworldly Dramedy with an Out-of-This-World Cast
I don’t think there could possibly be too many other people who are more excited about Reaper than me. The premise of the forthcoming CW dramedy is sufficient alone to satisfy my yen for new takes on old supernatural themes. It’s the cast of this particular series, however, that gets my interest all riled up and hits my enthusiasm right out of the ballpark.
Who’s so special? Well, I don’t know who I love more cutting up the small screen: series star Bret Harrison, the actor almost entirely responsible for my dedication to Fox’s prematurely canceled silly sitcom The Loop, or Canadian Tyler Labine, the funny guy who made every scene he graced with his presence in ABC’s also prematurely canceled thriller Invasion especially entertaining. I guess I’ll have to work on making a choice between the two when Reaper finally debuts in the fall. Thankfully, that September 25 date is not too far off, and soon, everyone will get a chance to watch what I hope becomes one of the biggest hits of the new season.
Reaper, blessed—or should I say cursed, given the subject matter?—with a pilot directed by Kevin Smith of Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back fame/infamy, is about Sam Oliver (Harrison), a quintessential layabout who discovers on his 21st birthday that his parents have always been so lenient with him because they sold his soul to the Man Below before he was born. Now charged with serving as a bounty hunter for the Big Red One, who’s not so bad or classically scary-looking when played by film and television veteran Ray Wise (24, Good Night, and Good Luck), Sam must face his fate while learning how to hunt down souls escaped from Hell in order to return them to their rightful place. Lucky (or maybe not) for him, then, that he has a stable of friends who provide varying degrees of so-called help.
The hour-long dramedy also stars Labine as Sam’s best slacker friend Bert “Sock” Wysocki, Missy Peregrym (Heroes) as his co-worker crush Andi, Allison Hossack (Falcon Beach) as his mother, Andrew Airlie (The L Word) as his father, Kyle Switzer (15/Love) as his younger brother Kyle, Rick Gonzalez (Coach Carter) as his other slacker pal Ben, and Valarie Rae Miller (Dark Angel) as Sock’s ex Josie.
It’s my pleasure to offer the chance for a sneak preview of the series through the following footage, or jump to the video if the player isn’t visible.*
*This video does not include closed captions or subtitles for the deaf, hard of hearing, or non-fluent in English.
Related Post: The CW’s 2007-2008 Primetime Schedule Interesting and Promising
Reaper premieres Tuesday, September 25, at 9pm EST on The CW
Reaper photo courtesy of The CW
