Undercovers is the newest brainchild of JJ Abrams, creator of fan favorites like Felicity, Alias, Lost, and Fringe. Would Undercovers be as good as JJ's previous offerings, or would it be a dud?

The Pitch

Steven and Samantha Bloom are former spies, now living a normal life. That is, until the CIA comes calling, and they are sent back into the field, this time together.

The Set Up

Samantha's former partner, Leo, goes MIA. The CIA believes he's gone rogue and is trying to sell secrets to a known weapons dealer. The government believes that since Samantha and Steven both knew Leo, they would be suited to try to find him. Now, the married couple are jumping back into the field after a 5 year hiatus. They never worked together, and becoming partners is much different than being married.

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Cringe Factor (Out of 10)

6.5. One word: Sexpionage.

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What's sexpionage, you ask? It's this.

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I think this is where the pilot officially lost me. I love JJ Abrams. Alias was the first show I ever fell in love with, and when JJ ran the series, it was amazing. I wasn't sure how to feel about JJ doing another spy show. I was hesitant to embrace another show with such a pedestrian concept. A couple spying together has been overdone to the max in recent years (see Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Killers).

I cannot believe the man who helped give us Lost and the new Star Trek reboot came up with the word "sexpionage". He's so above such cheap wordplay, and really above this mundane show. I undertand the Abrams and co. want to focus on the characters and less on the plot, but when your characters and their backgrounds are uninteresting, it's tough to do. A cohesive storyline was missing from the pilot. There's nothing connecting this episode to any other ones in the future, not even a dark and mysterious character arc. I'm not saying the show needs to be bogged down in mythology, like Alias and Lost, but at the very least provide us with something! Give us a villain, a mysterious corporation, ANYTHING to motivate the characters and viewers. Because right now, just having a married couple spying together isn't doing it.

Over/Under for Cancellation

At least 1 season. The characters, while boring, have some charm. It's cute to see little moments of marriage seep through missions, and I think viewers will have fun with that. I know I'm getting sick of it, but I'm not a typical viewer. This show can survive on viewers coming and going, watching every few weeks. Viewers don't need to keep track of characters and complex plots, it's very straight forward. These kinds of shows can do really well, even without good material. Plus, I'm hoping the show gets better, it has potential for interesting character stories, just wish I saw some hints of that in the pilot.