Forgotten Television: The Gates

Nick Monahan (Frank Grillo) is the new Police chief of an upscale gated community simply called “The Gates”. Nick was a Chicago homicide detective whose past caused him to leave the force and relocate his family which includes his wife, Sarah (Marisol Nichols); teenage son, Charlie (Travis Caldwell); and daughter Dana (McKaley Miller). This opportunity seems idyllic to the family, the job comes with a large house in a “safe” neighborhood, and is a fresh clean start for the family, after Nick’s past actions caused his loved ones so much turmoil over the past year.  What Nick is not aware of is that “The Gates” is home to several different supernatural beings.  There is a vampire couple, Dylan (Luke Mably) and Claire (Rhona Mitra); a teenage werewolf pack lead by Lukas (James Preston) who is trying to recruit Brett (Colton Haynes); warring witches Devon (Chandra West) and Peg (Victoria Platt) as well as a young succubus still learning to control her powers.  Nick will need all his skills to navigate both the dangerous world these supernatural beings and the unique crimes that surround them.

The Gates was an American supernatural crime drama series that aired on ABC starting on June 20, 2010, ending on September 19 of that same year. The first season consists of 13 episodes and the show was cancelled shortly after the first season finished airing. The series was a joint production between ABC and Fox Television and specifically their international paradigm.  The filming of the first 13 episodes were contingent upon getting international funding making it more economical as a summer replacement. Many of the cast members would become no strangers to playing or dealing with supernatural characters in other series.  For example, Frank Grillo, in addition to being Crossbones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Rick Flag Sr. in the upcoming DC Comics Universe movies, he is also set to star in the 2024 movie called Werewolves;  Marisol Nichols and Colton Haynes were both in the MTV series Teen Wolf as supernatural characters; Skyler Samuels would star as Chloe King in The Nine Lives of Chloe King as a teenage girl who discovers she has cat like powers; and Rhona Mitra plays a vampire in one of the Underworld film franchise movies.

This was a really well-done series, and it is sad that it got cancelled too soon.  The premise, although not entirely original, is interesting and backed up with strong stories and a great cast who felt both believable and natural in their roles.  I liked that they didn’t make the lead children overly dark or angry over having to leave their previous home.  The children aren’t unnecessarily picked on or ostracized for being the “new kids” but integrate quickly into their new school and surroundings.  That isn’t to say that Charlie doesn’t run into some issues when he develops a crush on a girl already in a relationship. The fact that there were so many different types of beings within The Gates, means that even more “species” could have been introduced had the show continued.  I also enjoyed that we get plenty of supernaturalness right from the beginning letting the audience know right upfront who and what Nick will be dealing with, even if he is ignorant of the dangers in the beginning.  I am not sure why a show with as good a cast and strong stories got cancelled, possibly because it aired on Sunday nights at 10pm, maybe the timeslot was just too late to garner a large enough fanbase to justify the cost of filming.  10pm!  On a school night!