THE INBETWEEN: Wednesday 10PM on NBC
The flow of broadcast summer product continues with NBC’s workmanlike paranormal procedural THE INBETWEEN. The show was created by Moira Kirland, previously a writer/producer on Medium, Hawaii 5-0 and Madam Secretary, among other shows. It’s the first of those that counts here, as The InBetween is very much in Medium‘s decade-old vein.
Set in the part of Seattle that exists in Vancouver, The InBetween‘s protagonist is Cassie Bedford (the Australian actress Harriet Dyer), bartender by profession but crime-solver by way of her powers, which give her visions of murder scenes, as well as a slightly creepy preteen murder-victim roommate. Conveniently, Cassie is the adopted daughter of Seattle PD Homicide Detective Tom Hackett (Paul Blackthorne), who comes to her when he needs help on his cases. Although his confabs with Cassie are apparently meant to be kept quiet, no sooner does he get a new, instantly disliked partner in ex-profiler Damien Asante (Justin Cornwell) that he brings the new guy to meet her, and naturally while Damien is scornfully dismissive of her gifts at first, by the episode’s end he’s not sure what to make of her startling accuracy.
The pilot, written by Kirland and competently directed by Charlotte Sieling, has the team on the track of a killer who removed the eyes of his victim. In classic Dick Wolf-ian fashion, the villain turns out to be a guy who had about thirty seconds worth of casual dialogue early in the hour. Although Cassie will presumably assist in the solving of a crime in each episode, a bit of serialization is provided via a visit from the spirit of the killer who inspired the week’s fiend, and also by the fact that Damien has A Secret behind his move from LA to Seattle.
The InBetween is utterly undemanding, and apart from the matter-of-fact reveal that Tom is gay, it could easily pass for a series from the early 2000s. It briefly flirts with something darker as Cassie’s ghostly friend considers killing her mother’s new child out of pique that she’s been replaced, but not to worry, as Cassie quickly convinces the child instead to haunt–but not kill–her own murderer. Dyer is a pleasant heroine, and Blackthorne is a pro, but no one is getting a chance to work here beyond a shallow depth. Sieling provides a few mild jolts in the vision sequences, and otherwise hews to a typical network look and feel.
Little is asked of summer network TV fare, and for those with an hour to spare and an unwillingness or inability to check out the content on streaming services, The InBetween will keep the lights on. Sadly, its second sight doesn’t extend to its own material.
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