Aftermath - Series Premiere - Review - 'Passable Entertainment'

Aftermath is the epitome of the saying, "everything but the kitchen sink." Natural disasters, supernatural beings, and fevers that turn people into raging animals make up the world of this post-apocalyptic show, though technically, it still is in the midst of the chaos.

Syfy's newest series revolves around the Copeland family, a couple with three grown children, as they struggle to survive during the end of the world. Low expectations were set coming into this low budget, Syfy affair and, after watching the premiere, I was quite ashamedly impressed. Aftermath does not offer much, but it nevertheless achieves what it sets out to do, have stupid fun, and for that it is pure guilty pleasure.

Part of what makes the show passable entertainment are the parents portrayed by Anne Heche and James Tupper. Both actors make very compelling leads, they have a certain charisma that oozes out whenever they are on screen. Heche in particular is pretty badass, especially with a shotgun. Without these two leads, Aftermath would probably be quite bland.

There is also the issue of the kids. As with any show that has younger actors there is always that risk of intolerableness. If they turn out to be annoying, the show instantly becomes unwatchable.

Levi Meaden, who plays the eldest son Matt, as well as Julia Sarah Stone and Taylor Hickson as twins, Brianna and Dana, aren't as annoying as some kids on other similar shows, but they're not exactly memorable either. This is a positive first step as hopefully the more they develop, as the series progresses, the more likeable they'll become.

In this premiere Hickson had the most to work with as Brianna Copeland, one of two daughters who is swooped away by a possessed human zombie thing. We see her narrowly escape that situation only to fall in even worse hands when she is picked up by two county policy officers gone psycho. She eventually gets rescued by a biker gang at a cafe in a tense shootout scene.

Hickson does a good of a job as any for this so far one dimensional character, but what stood out from this separate storyline was how it went by without me screaming at the television set. One of the bigger strengths of this premiere was how sound the character motivations were, no one did anything stupid and illogical.

The hectic situations the family found themselves in provided some crazy fun moments, like the psycho gas attendant with the bloody mop and severed head or the berserk dinner table mate. The hurricane and the meteor also provided spectacle with competent visuals and production values.

Overall, Aftermath provided enough fun and passable entertainment to warrant a return. The show knows what it is and doesn't try to be anything else. Anne Heche and James Tupper are great leads; however, there is still much development to be had for their on-screen children.

6.5/10

About the Author - Kollin Lore

Kollin is an entertainment writer and a film and television, in particular genre TV, freak having grown up during the 90s and early 2000s a dedicated fan of Buffy and Angel. Current shows like Supernatural,The Blacklist, Preacher, Game of Thrones, Blindspot, The Expanse and dozens of other shows are currently occupying Kollin’s nightly hours.

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