J.J. Abrams
Over the last few years we’ve had a number of outstanding American TV series grace our screens, some of which are still going and others which sadly came to an end.
There’s been a whole range of programmes on offer year after year, including crime dramas (Dexter and Breaking Bad), period dramas (Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire), comedies (30 Rock), fantasies (Game of Thrones) and horrors (American Horror Story). And many of them have lived up to the hype and anticipation.
2012 then is no different, as January marks the start of yet another exciting new series: ‘Alcatraz’.
Alcatraz follows a group of detectives as they try to uncover the mystery of why and how a number of inmates disappeared from the infamous prison in the ‘60s and why they are suddenly returning in the present day.
The investigation is sparked when Det. Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones), from the San Francisco Police Department, is asked to chase up a homicide crime. In doing so, she uncovers fingerprints which lead her to a former, deceased convict, Jack Sylvane (Jeffrey Pierce), who she then learns is actually alive. He is not a day older than when he was an inmate and he is committing murders once again.
Madsen soon becomes aware though that Sylvane isn’t the only prisoner who has returned and the series then delves into the prison’s history and people’s heritage, uncovering plenty of secrets and cover-ups as a result.
The show has been produced by J.J Abrams, who also worked on LOST, and so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Alcatraz is also full of mystery, time-travel and mythology. It wouldn’t be surprising either if the series is complex, confusing and far-fetched, as this is arguably what happened with LOST.
J.J. Abrams has pointed out though that he’s gone in a different direction with Alactraz. Storylines, he suggested, are resolved in each weekly episode, yet there are still big questions which will be answered over time.
Abrams also executively produced the other popular TV series, Fringe, but again said that Alcatraz would not be the same as it. During the Winter TV Press Tour 2012 in Pasadena, he explained to TV critics that in comparison, Alcatraz “…was much more about a condition and a premise.”
The show airs on Fox, January 16.
Sophie Burluraux