robertemerald I have seen the original French drama on which this is based. I've also seen the brilliant first season of The Leftovers. I'm a science fiction fan, so such shows are all good news to me and I'm therefore bias. The scope for failure in such shows is all down to the actors, the script and the plot. All three shows succeed brilliantly. It's almost edge-of-your-seat viewing, all have a certain horror, and brought out in me a strange fascination that was a surprise and very enjoyable. There's a depth of thought by the writers that is, from a science fiction point of view, truly brilliant, and certainly original. There are movies that use such themes but have to use a certain quirkiness, or failing that a certain catastrophic horror, that don't succeed as well as this series. It comes across as very honest, very human, a certain unknowable horror, even with those that find themselves alive again, and is thus very watchable. I have to take my hat off to brave television that walks such a tight-rope. I'm docking The Returned two points for not being brave enough to resolve the season sufficiently (for me). I could see a great ending there, but it's stalled, presumably to make way for a second season. From memory the French version had this problem as well.

Tss5078 Today there are more networks and streaming services offering original programming than ever before. It is an amazing time for TV lovers and it seems that anyone can get pretty much anything on the air. With all these new shows debuting all over the place, this does unfortunately leave the networks at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to original ideas. Out of desperation, many networks have turned to re-booting old shows, bringing back cancelled ideas that didin't work, and even Americanizing overseas television shows, The Returned is an example of the later. I understand why A&E chose to take a show from overseas, Americanize it, and market it as their next big hit, but why the Returned? This idea has been done to death, both in movies and on TV, and while the show is critically acclaimed, the ratings for the overseas version were terrible, the show was cancelled after it's second season. If no one is watching it over there, why did they think anyone would watch it over here? The returned takes place in a small Northwestern town, where one day, out of the blue, people who have been dead, some for decades, start showing up back at home with no memory of being gone at all. Each episode is broken up into sections that follow specific individuals and their interactions with their loved ones and society. There is also of course the police and investigative angle to the whole thing, and an unsolved crime thrown into the mix, in order to try and keep viewers coming back each week. Funny thing is, I wasn't all that crazy about this episode of the Twilight Zone. It was a little better when The X-Files did it. The 4400 added beings from the future and turned it into a series that quickly ran out of storyline and fizzled out, and now we have The Returned. This isn't an original idea, far from it, and the fact that it takes place in the same location as the 4400 is completely laughable. The cast has a few standouts that made the show a bit less tiresome, Mark Pellegrino is always fun to watch, as you never can figure out if he's a good guy or a bad one. We're also introduced to a new young actor in the form of Dylan Kingwell. He doesn't say much, but his character is honestly one of the most fascinating mysteries of the whole show. The bottom line is that this show is a complete rip off of other ideas and there is really very little here to keep the viewers interested. The boys story turned out to be really cool, The murder investigation was interesting but under utilized, and there were a few cast members I enjoyed. Otherwise the writing was terrible and parts of this show were just painfully slow. There are some terrific overseas shows that no one has even mentioned bringing over here, why they chose this one, I'll never know.

sstinkham Please, bring The Returned back. My daughter's and I binged watched for two day's, even told friends about the show and now they are watching and upset there will not be a second season, after cancellation. The story line is compelling and the setting is beautiful. We love to find out why Camille kills the teen boy through sex, why did Peter grow old and the little boy Henry stayed young. Will Adam now kill Lena when he finds her in the woods and blame her for his bother's death. Will Rowan ever find out of Tommy's deception of how Simon really died. Did Simon's premonition come to pass given that Helens lit match go's out.Such a climatic finale and now no second season.Sarah

Shopaholic35 I personally found The Returned to be quite tedious. It was slow to evolve into something interesting and came across as quite predictable.Everybody seems to be annoyed at how it isn't as great as the french version but forget about the french version hasn't anyone ever seen the show The 4400. They can change it up all they like but it's too similar, even down to the creepy "special kid".I thought it might be interesting but I don't want to see another remake of this concept. The cast are all mediocre, not technically bad actors but just boring and missing that star presence.Give it a miss as it ends before it really got a chance to start. You'll be left with many questions and an unsatisfied feeling.