SummaryCharlie Haverford (Jeffrey Donovan) who oversees Romani clan leader Fonzo's (Angus Sampson) chain of fortune telling parlors in Los Angeles begins to question his life when he begins experiences visions.
SummaryCharlie Haverford (Jeffrey Donovan) who oversees Romani clan leader Fonzo's (Angus Sampson) chain of fortune telling parlors in Los Angeles begins to question his life when he begins experiences visions.
If Shut Eye had the foresight to focus on Linda (KaDee Strickland), it might have avoided turning into a meandering muddle of subplots. [9 Dec 2016, p.57]
Nice directing, photo and acting, along with scenario twists, a strong dosage of violence, a beautiful view in the "psychic" business and the roma ways of life, comprise a solid good and entertaining tv show.
Surprisingly good. Not quite equal to Breaking Bad in scope, but nonetheless, a very solid, worthy binge. Completely captivated. A great cast. Donovan is completely engrossed and engrossing, hard to take our eyes off of him. He had a certain sort of light-hearted yet desperate, cavalier insouciance that carries the story (ridiculous as it sometimes seems) well and kept us a little off balance. What would he be up to next? Always up to something... both good guy and mischief maker, you're not quite sure. Always something up his sleeve. The other actors were completely convincing in their roles, mesmerizing as well, especially the ever-on-edge Strickland. She reminded us of Angelina Jolie in looks, as if Angelina had a tough sister. The direction had us on the edge of our seats. Isabella Rossellini added a certain panache that helped take this over the edge and up several levels. Always looked forward to her appearance, as if she was an anchor, a point of reference. The cast was so well chosen, a triumph, and in our humble opinion, very well crafted and directed. Much better than a number of Netflix originals; frankly, we think this is a coup for Hulu. Loved it.
At its best, the show mimics the stylized visuals, outlandish violence, and comic cynicism of early episodes of Breaking Bad--though, so far, it lacks the clarity and the focus to make its story half as thoughtful.
There are a lot of moving parts, some of which work quite well (Mel Harris as a wealthy but naive client who thinks the Haverfords are saving her from a short con when they’re really setting her up for a long one), others of which grind the show to a halt (Dylan Schmid as the inevitable troublemaking teenage son).
Donovan, Schmid and, intermittently, Strickland manage moments of credibility, but Sampson and Rossellini sink beneath the waves of bad writing at every turn. They are weighed down by painfully bad performances.
It deserved more than two seasons.
Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a stellar breakthrough in writing, but if you enjoyed Jeffrey Donovan in Burn Notice, you will enjoy this a lot.
Following Charlie Haverford (Donovan) who is a scammer with a small chain of fortune-telling businesses in the greater chunk of Los Angeles. A blow to the head from a client’s angry boyfriend intersects with a hypnosis session while auditioning a new “clairvoyant,” and suddenly, a man whose entire life has been based on fraud begins to see and feel some very real and fundamental truths.
The show was well written, quirky and both fun and serious at the same time. Jeffrey Donovan was the central hub for the first season and that made it interesting. The second season tried to expand into the subplots with the secondary characters and that is where I think people lost interest. Not enough time on Charlie, too much time on his horrific wife. I did like that there was a scammer/psychic fraud underworld in LA. That was a new twist.
The things I disliked other then the expansion was the way the wife’s character was written, and how Charlie wouldn’t do anything about it. I also disliked that the show portrayed Romani as the illegal underground for psychics. I don’t think it was on purpose, but it played into a lot of stereotypes about Romani, when it looked like they were trying to overcome that.
Pros: Good acting, and a very up on it Jeffrey Donovan made this an interesting show.
Cons: The loss of focus on Charlie, the representation of Romani and especially how horrible they made Charlie’s wife.
Even with all that, I am disappointed there wasn’t a third season.
This was a great first season. Has all the elements you want in a present day gypsie culture drama. All the leads are superb, and I really like Kadee Strickland, a Hollywood twin of Trishia Helfer. The story is well crafted and acted. The lead up to the season finale was great and the finale itself was good but the final 2 minutes were confusing. Lucky for me, season 2 just hit so I'll get un-confused in a few moments.
I don't know what show all the critics have been watching but don't pass by on giving this ORIGiONAL gem a turn! Does it have its flaws? Sure! But boring is not one of them! Walking dead has plenty and so did shows like True Blood and Banshee! They had plenty, but they are not formulaic and predictable like so many others. Neither is Shut Eye. I think if you liked Weeds then you should give this a whirl? It's pulpy, fun and most of all not boring! But what do I know.
Again surprised by the reaction from critics. This show is so much fun! There are some issues, but I think they will be cleared up in time, if it receives a second season. There are obvious comparisons to Breaking Bad, which also took some time to get into it's groove, but I absolutely see this as binge candy!
Interesting show. Up until the end of the season, that is. The usual drawbacks lesser shows fall to: lazy writing, silly twists, unrealistic schemes, and unfathomable interventions (deus ex machina). Before the final episode, would have been a 7 or 8. Sad.