Almost Human (TV Series)
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''Almost Human'' is an American science fiction/crime drama that aired on Fox. The series was created by
J. H. Wyman Joel Howard "J. H." Wyman (born January 5, 1967) is a film and TV producer, screenwriter, director and musician. He is best known for his work on the Fox Broadcasting Network, Fox science fiction shows ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'' and ''Almos ...
for Frequency Films, Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television, with Wyman, Bryan Burk and J. J. Abrams as its executive producers. It stars Karl Urban as a police detective in 2048 who is reluctantly paired with an android partner played by
Michael Ealy Michael David Brown (born August 3, 1973), known professionally as Michael Ealy, is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' Barbershop'' (2002), '' 2 Fast 2 Furious'' (2003), '' Takers'' (2010), '' Think Like a Man'' (2012), '' Abou ...
. The series premiered on November 17, 2013, and aired through March 3, 2014. After a single season, Fox cancelled the series on April 29, 2014.


Premise

In 2048, the unrestrained evolution of science and technology has caused crime rates to rise an astounding 400%. To combat this, the overwhelmed police force has implemented a new policy: every human police officer is paired with a lifelike combat-model android. Set in New Pittsburg, John Kennex ( Karl Urban), a troubled detective, has a reason to hate these new robot partners. Almost two years previously, Kennex and his squad were raiding the hideout of a violent gang known as inSyndicate, but ended up being ambushed and outgunned. Kennex tried to save his badly injured partner, but the accompanying logic-based android officer abandoned them both because the wounded man's chances of survival were low and it wouldn't have been "logical" to save him. An explosion then took off Kennex's leg and killed his partner. After waking up from a 17-month coma, Kennex has to deal with a cybernetic prosthetic leg and huge gaps in his memory, which he tries to recover through visits to a black market memory-recovery doctor called a Recollectionist, in the city slums. Besides trying to remember as much as he can about the raid and the inSyndicate, he is also coming to terms with being abandoned by his ex-girlfriend Anna. Kennex is then recalled to the force by Captain Sandra Maldonado ( Lili Taylor), and partnered with a standard-issue MX-43 android, which he soon throws from a moving vehicle, when it threatens to report his unusual behavior. He is assigned a replacement android, an older DRN model originally decommissioned for police work and about to be transferred to the Space Station. Created to be as close to human as possible, the DRN androids have trouble dealing with some of their own emotional responses, which was the reason they were replaced by the logic-based MX units. Kennex's unit, known as Dorian (
Michael Ealy Michael David Brown (born August 3, 1973), known professionally as Michael Ealy, is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' Barbershop'' (2002), '' 2 Fast 2 Furious'' (2003), '' Takers'' (2010), '' Think Like a Man'' (2012), '' Abou ...
), immediately proves himself unique, with a clear dislike of being referred to as a "synthetic", and a dry, friendly, sarcasm-oriented wit. Key to the story arc is the growth and development of Kennex and Dorian's relationship.


Cast and characters

* Karl Urban as John Kennex, a detective who lost a leg after a Synthetic left him behind because he and his partner had a low chance of survival. He awakes from a coma 17 months later, to find his leg has been replaced with a synthetic prosthetic and returns to duty. *
Michael Ealy Michael David Brown (born August 3, 1973), known professionally as Michael Ealy, is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' Barbershop'' (2002), '' 2 Fast 2 Furious'' (2003), '' Takers'' (2010), '' Think Like a Man'' (2012), '' Abou ...
as DRN-0167, called "Dorian", a retired DRN model Police Synthetic. Dorian shows himself to be unique and resents the term "Synthetic". * Minka Kelly as Valerie Stahl, another detective serving under Captain Maldonado and the love interest for Kennex. She is a Chrome, a human genetically engineered for beauty, excellence and success. Other Chromes consider her choice of profession to be a waste of potential. *
Mackenzie Crook Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is an English actor, director, comedian and writer best known for his roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for portraying Gareth Keenan in the British sitcom '' ...
as Rudy Lom, a technician * Michael Irby as Richard Paul, a detective * Lili Taylor as Sandra Maldonado, the police captain


Episodes


Development and production

The series first appeared as part of Fox's development slate in September 2012. In January 2013, Fox
green-lit In the context of the film and television industries, to greenlight is to give permission to proceed with a project. It specifically refers to formally approving its production finance and committing to this financing, thereby allowing the projec ...
production of a pilot episode. On May 8, 2013, the series was added to the network's 2013–14 schedule. On September 9, 2013, it was announced that executive producer and co-showrunner Naren Shankar, who joined the series after the production of the pilot, would depart the series due to creative differences, while creator
J. H. Wyman Joel Howard "J. H." Wyman (born January 5, 1967) is a film and TV producer, screenwriter, director and musician. He is best known for his work on the Fox Broadcasting Network, Fox science fiction shows ''Fringe (TV series), Fringe'' and ''Almos ...
would continue as sole
showrunner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
. The series was originally scheduled to premiere on Monday, November 4, 2013. Fox announced a two-week delay and that the series would instead premiere with a special preview on Sunday, November 17 before moving to its regular time slot starting on Monday, November 18. The order of the episodes that aired on Fox differs from the production order of the episodes intended by J. H. Wyman, the series' showrunner. However, due to the (largely) self-contained nature of these episodes, this does not create significant discontinuity in the events of the series, though the increased closeness and trust between Detective Kennex and Dorian over the arc of the course of the series is uneven in the televised sequence of episodes. On April 29, 2014, Fox cancelled the series after a single season, reportedly due to low ratings, high production costs and FOX's already full scheduling for fall. Ealy acknowledged that the show required " CSI numbers" in order to continue.


Broadcast

The series was shown in the United Kingdom on
Watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...
on May 6, 2014. The series premiered in Australia on the
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
on April 12, 2015. In Thailand aired on PPTV from May 16, 2015, to August 15, 2015.


Reception


Critical response and nominations

Kevin McFarland reviewing for ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' gave the pilot episode a C+ grade, criticizing the information-heavy introduction and title card, but noting "flashes of excitement" and expressing interest in how the plot gets teased out and how the detective partnership develops. The grades do improve, garnering a B− for episodes two, three, and four, a B for episode five, and an A− for episode six. The series received an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
nomination for Outstanding Special and Visual Effects.


U.S. ratings


See also

* '' Better than Us'', a 2018 Russian series with a similar premise. * '' Detroit: Become Human'', a 2018 adventure video game. * '' Future Cop'', a science fiction crime drama that starred
Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine ( ; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perf ...
as a seasoned veteran of the 1970s
LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...
and Michael J. Shannon as his android partner. * '' Holmes & Yoyo'', a short lived series with a similar premise and contemporaneous with the above series. * ''
Humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
'' (British-American adaptation of ''Real Humans''). * '' Mann & Machine'', a 1990s series with a similar premise. * '' Real Humans'' (Swedish series). * '' Star Cops'', a 1987 UK series with a similar premise. * '' Total Recall 2070'', a 1999 series with a similar premise.


References


External links

* * {{IMDb title, 2654580, Almost Human 2010s American science fiction television series 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American police procedural television series 2013 American television series debuts 2014 American television series endings American action television series American English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Androids in television Television series by Bad Robot Productions Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series set in the 2040s Television shows filmed in Vancouver Sex robots Fiction set in 2048 Fox Broadcasting Company crime dramas