The Returned premieres on March 9 at 10/9c on A&E and is adapted from the French series Les Revenants and was developed by Lost alum Carleton Cuse. Keith Gordon directed the first episode, “Camille,” with Cuse penning the teleplay. Raelle Tucker of True Blood and Supernatural co-executive produces with Cuse. The series features a well-known cast including Mark Pellegrino, Jeremy Sisto, Kevin Alejandro, Mat Vairo, India Ennenga, Sophie Lowe, Leah Gibson, Chelah Horsdal, and Sandrine Holt. And really, that’s just scratching the surface.
The series follows in the footsteps, not only of its French inspiration, but a spate of returned from the dead series like
Resurrection and
The 4400. And of course, you could also see them as following in the footsteps of all the other popular zombie series. There are 10 episodes ordered for this first season, and by the episode titles it would appear that each episode focuses on one person returned after some years from the dead.
The production values and performances are excellent, however, and the plot unfolds in a really interesting way. This episode focuses on Camille’s (India Ennenga) return, but we see several other returns as well. The episode begins four years ago with Camille’s apparent death. It then picks up four years later, and the episode follows the reaction of Camille’s family to her return. The episode then circles back to four years ago at the very end to fill in the details of what we saw in the first few minutes.
The present storyline picks up at a support group meeting for people who have suffered a loss. Peter Lattimore (Jeremy Sisto) is the psychologist leading the group. The group’s meeting is interspersed with Camille’s making her way home. For her, no time has passed, but life has definitely moved on for her family. Her father Jack (Mark Pellegrino) and mother Claire (Tandi Wright) have found different ways to cope with the loss of their daughter. Camille’s sister, Lena (Sophie Lowe), has also struggled to come to terms with both the loss of her sister and her own part in it.
Dr Julie Han (Sandrine Holt) is faced with the mysterious appearance of Victor (Dylan Kingwell). Simon (Mat Vairo) returns to Rowan (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). While Camille’s return is met with wonder and joy, not all the returns are. In fact, I found the reaction of Camille’s parents to be a bit odd and not entirely satisfactory. The first episode also contains two new deaths, so it will be interesting to see what happens to those people going forward.
The episode is well-plotted, asking some interesting questions that I’ll definitely be tuning in to see answered. I haven’t seen the French version, so I’ll be really interested in hearing from people who have as to whether this is similar. This first episode is definitely worth watching, particularly for the performances of Mark Pellegrino, India Ennenga, and Sophie Lowe. Don’t forget to tune in to catch the first episode on
March 9 at 10/9c on A&E!
About the Author - Lisa Macklem
I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.
