I thought Touch was a pretty smart and compelling show when it debuted last season. The Fox drama, which returns tonight at 8 p.m. with two back-to-back episodes (on Fox and Global), stars Kiefer Sutherland as the father of a gifted, special needs child (David Mazouz).
The teaming of Sutherland and executive producer Tim Kring (Heroes) seemed smart, too. Kring took the best of Heroes, the broad, international scope, and used it to ignite a very personal and domestic story.
Adding Maria Bello to the mix also seemed like a positive move. She’s a “phenomenal” actress, as Sutherland said to a few of us last summer when he took questions during the Fox TCA press tour party. She plays a mom who has a missing daughter who can also connect numbers. The pair form an alliance.
You can’t help but think Fox might not have a great deal of faith in Touch, however. There’s the Friday night timeslot, the late mid-season return. The series was originally booked for October but got bumped back twice.
Now there’s word Bello won’t be coming back even if the series goes to a third season.
One thing Fox is trying to do is promote the series as 24 2.0. Their release suggests “Touch has become a heart-pounding thrill ride, filled with suspense, murder, heroism and global consequences…” Fox is definitely playing their Bauer.
Read more here at this feature I wrote this week for The Canadian Press.
