REVIEW – The InBetween – “Pilot” (SPOILER FREE)

I know what you're thinking, this seems a little familiar.  Woman who sees visions and helps to solve crimes, right?  Well...not exactly.  Tonight NBC jumps back into the realm of the paranormal but with a bit of a twist.  Since the show hasn't aired yet, I'm going to keep things spoiler free while I talk about the premiere episode of The InBetween.

The show follows Cassie Bedford (Harriet Dyer) who was born with the ability to see visions.  The difference here is, we're not just talking about seeing ghosts here.  The visions could be of something from the past, something from the future or, yes, it could be a spirit that needs help.  The other interesting part about this is, she doesn't necessarily have control over when this happens.  She does have a support system in place, her father Det. Tom Hackett (Paul Blackthorne) and his better half.  They are fully aware of what Cassie can do, and Hackett actually has her helping out on cases from time to time.

In this first episode we do see quite a strange and dark murder, which Cassie seems almost destined to help with.  I will say that there is one trope that this show did follow, and that is the "new partner" angle.  Enter Damien Asante (Justin Cornwell), a former FBI agent who was looking for a change of scenery and joined the Seattle police force.  The show is very self aware in that no one seems to know why a former FBI agent would want to just join the Seattle Police force and request to work with Det. Hackett.  What he doesn't realize is that this also means working with Cassie as well.  The relationship with Cassie is very much a part of this episode.  I have to say that I was surprised at how quickly that became a part of the story (which will make much more sense when you see the show.)

There is more to the show than just the case that is being worked.  Cassie has a bit more company that she is dealing with, which leads her down a path all her own.  While the case in this episode seemed a bit predicable at times, this other matter that Cassie is dealing with certainly wasn't for me.  It also takes a very dark turn, which I was not expecting.  This is where the uneasy feeling started to set in for me, and honestly, where I saw the show setting itself apart from it's predecessors in the same genre.