The Following debuted last night to many open-jawed, eyes covered, creeped out viewers. To recap, Kevin Bacon plays Ryan Hardy, an elite ex-FBI agent taken out of retirement after a diabolical serial killer, Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) escapes from prison. By the end of the episode, Carroll is caught and hauled back to prison but not before he kills his only surviving victim from nine years ago, reveals his cult of killer followers, and aids in the kidnapping of his own son.
But was it good? Find out after the jump!
Bacon and Purefoy are easily the shows biggest assets. Their acting was superb which helps distract you from some of the obvious plot holes (really? a kid can go missing with that many cops around??). For fans of 24, you may see the similarities of plot twists and “no one can be trusted” paranoia but instead of terrorists, we’re dealing with serial killers. Overall, I recommend the show specifically for the intensity and the performances from Bacon and Purefoy. Just make sure you watch it with the lights on!
The pilot of The Following drew in 10.4 million viewers last night and has doubled the ratings versus the most recent debut on Fox, The Mob Doctor which only brought in 5.1 million viewers.
Editor’s Note: Amanda and I were going to do a joint review, but she really nailed this on the head, from the actors to the very obvious plot holes, a few of which I’m not completely forgiving of. However, Kevin Bacon is a great actor, and I’m excited to see where his character goes from here. The Following has at least two viewers that will be tuning in next Monday.