Forgotten Television: The Returned 2015

Four years after a bus accident took the life their daughter Camille (India Ennenga), Claire (Tandi Wright) and her now ex-husband Jack (Mark Pellegrino) are shocked when their dead daughter returns having not aged and having no memory of the last four years.  At the same time, a mysterious young boy appears to Dr. Julie Han (Sandrine Holt).  The boy, at first, will not speak so she names him Victor (Dylan Kingwell).  Simon (Mat Vairo) who was also dead, returns looking for Rowan (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) only to find that she has moved on from him and is engaged to Sheriff Tommy Solano (Kevin Alejandro). Helen (Michelle Forbes) returns to her husband after being dead 29 years causing him much distress. Jack accuses Lucy of conning him, claiming to being able to talk to his dead daughter, even after she returns.  As Lucy flees from Jack, she is attacked and stabbed by a serial killer who was thought to have died seven years earlier. And all of that takes place in the first episode!

The Returned is an English language adaption of a 2012 French series called Les Revenants. The American series premiered on A&E on March 9, 2015 and ran for ten episodes concluding on May 11 of that same year.  In June, A&E announced that the series would not return for a second season.  The series garnered generally positive reviews with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 7.4/10 based on 33 critics with the sites stating, “Though overshadowed by its superior source material, the US version of The Returned retains enough of the creep factor and character drama to appease fans of the genre.” Metacritic scored it 67/100 based on 24 reviews.  Around the same time a couple other shows premiered with similar plots.  In 2014 ABC premiered Resurrection about a small town in Missouri with a similar problem keeping their dead…dead. This show was based on a book called The Returned.   And in 2015, Glitch, an Australian series with a very similar premise began and ran for three seasons.

Having not seen the original French source material, I cannot do a comparison, but I do think that the pilot episode for the American version was very well done.  The cast was engaging and well chosen with the ability to quickly connect with the audience.  The writing was smooth, and the dialogue felt natural, allowing the expositional material to freely flow without feeling forced or untruthful.  Often pilots with so many introductions to characters can feel clunky, but this did a great job of introducing them all and giving the audience a glimpse of who they truly are. The story is intriguing with several mysteries and subplots that pull the viewer in leaving them wanting more.  There is a bit of creepiness, especially surrounding Victor, but it is really a drama which explores themes of grief, loss, and the meaning of life as the townspeople grapple with the mysterious phenomenon and its impact on their community. The Returned is a haunting and thought-provoking exploration of the human condition, blending supernatural elements with realistic character dramas.