Tell-Tale TV Series Premiere Panels: The Catch

Alice Vaughan is a private investigator who specializes in white collar crime and catching con artists. She’s happily engaged to Christopher Hall, but unfortunately, he’s the con man she’s been chasing — Mr. X.

He stole her money and her heart, and now, Alice is determined to bring him down. The Catch is a game of cat and mouse with a dash of romance.

Our panelists are:

• Ashley Bissette Sumerel, founder and editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV
• Christine Laskodi, associate editor for Tell-Tale TV
• Caralynn Lippo, contributing writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Allison Nichols, contributing writer for Tell-Tale TV

Give it to me straight — what did you think of the premiere?

Christine: I don’t normally love Shonda shows, but man, this one got me right away. It was like Alias meets soapy goodness. Peter Krause is delightfully devilish, and Mireille Enos was a very engaging leading lady. I love a good game of cat and mouse, which is absolutely what this show is. Also, is her last name Vaughn? Did I catch that? Just like Vaughn on Alias?

Ashley: I loved it. I thought it was a lot of fun and a little lighter than the other shows that are currently a part of Shondaland. Plus, seeing Peter Krause play such a different role is really exciting to see. He’s the exact opposite of Adam Braverman, and it’s fabulous.

Allison: I loved it so much. It’s definitely lighter, and the characters are captivating. The con artist/white collar crime aspect definitely appeals to me, and now I want to re-watch White Collar. Mireille Enos and Peter Krause are excellent leads, and hopefully we get to see more of their relationship and their lives before the other one came into it.

Caralynn: Like Christine, I’m not much of a Shonda person. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single episode of Grey’s Anatomy or Scandal or anything. That said, I liked this premiere a lot more than I was expecting to. I loved both of the leads, and the premiere did a great job of setting up the whole story and kicking off this game of cat and mouse between the two. It reminded me a lot of certain USA Network shows (like White Collar, as Allison mentioned), which aren’t usually my cup of tea, but the strength of the leads, their chemistry, etc. really got me into this.

What’s the show’s biggest problem?

Christine: It’s definitely a little more spy-thriller than soap, so there may be some turned off by that. And the tech aspects can be a little boring at times. But they blew past a lot of the tech talk pretty quickly. Also if you’re looking for Peter Krause to be Adam Braverman again, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

Ashley: The only thing that bothered me was how quickly Alice figured out she had been conned by her fiance. I guess I was thinking we’d see more of their relationship and wedding planning as she was also trying to catch “Mr. X.” I think there could have been a lot of potential there.

Allison: I had the same reaction that Ashley had. I was surprised by how quickly Christopher disappeared. Now that Alice knows who Christopher really is, the question is, “how long can this last without getting too convoluted?” How long can Christopher stay one step ahead? Either we are going to have to throw in cases of the week or the hunt for Christopher/Mr. X is going to get crazy.

Caralynn: I’m not really interested in any of the supporting characters at this point, which could be an issue. They all felt really flat, right off the bat. Also, there’s some concern that this could devolve into a procedural, “case of the week” thing, where Alice and her associates are tracking the criminal du jour while Christopher/Ben stuff is happening simultaneously, which could get a little predictable.

What/Who do you want to see more of?

Christine: Christopher! Or Ben. I’m confused by which is his actual name. He definitely loves Alice, and it’s complicating his game. But I could definitely see enjoying more games between the two of them. And definitely more covert ops stuff. I love that stuff.

Ashley: Ditto. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Christopher and more of the games. Watching Christopher (okay, I don’t know what else to call him right now either) pull off his cons was so much fun to watch.

Allison: Obviously Christopher. We’re going to have to come up with a name to use, guys. It’s like Once Upon a Time with the double names all over again. I enjoyed that he really did care for Alice. He wasn’t a heartless con man. There are real feelings there, and I’m looking forward to see how his feelings for her and her feelings for him play out during all of this.

Caralynn: Ditto ChristoBen. He’s a really intriguing character and the fact that Alice doesn’t yet know that he’s truly in love with her makes this whole thing interesting. I was surprised by that fact because the trailers didn’t really seem to let on that his feelings for her were that genuine.

What was your favorite moment/quote?

Christine: The details of that painting. The fact that they both see it in such different ways and both love it for different reasons, but both kind of looked at it with that same smile in the end. I loved it.

Ashley: I thought the scene when Christopher asked Alice to run away with him was beautiful. It was clear he really did want that, and he saw this little window of opportunity to be able to stay with her. I also think you could see it in his eyes as he watched her sleep.

Allison: I really loved that Christopher stole the painting for Alice. It was a moment that showed how much he cared, and it was also a taunt. It summed up their currently strange relationship status.

Caralynn: This isn’t really a moment or quote, but I loved all of the music. The use of music in the episode was really strong. As for a moment, I loved the moment when Alice showed up at the party and ChristoBen saw her. That was a very tense moment.

What did you think of the premiere? Will you be sticking around? Share your thoughts in a comment below.

The Catch airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.