Celebrities
There’s one thing missing from ABC’s ‘Conviction’
The last time we wrote about Haley Atwell, “Marvel’s Agent Carter” was hanging in the balance at ABC. Ultimately, the series did not get renewed for a third season. Thankfully, though, Atwell has persevered and takes the lead in the network’s new series, “Conviction.”
Premiering on Monday (Oct. 3), the procedural drama doesn’t really tread any new ground when it comes to this type of show. While the show’s talent is fine and the story moves along at a brisk pace, it feels as if ABC is playing it safe with the new program, possibly attempting to extend the tone and feel of Shondaland outside of Thursday night.
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The supporting characters in “Conviction” — played by Shawn Ashmore, Merrin Dungey, Emily Kinney and Manny Montana — make a decent team for Atwell’s Hayes Morrison to lead. And while the concept of a famous party girl socialite, who happens to be daughter of a former U.S. president, leading New York’s new Conviction Integrity Unit feels far fetched, the one thing we are really missing in this show is Atwell’s endearing British dialect.
That may sound like a tiny detail against the grander scheme of things, but with the show’s overall concept — seriously, Hayes’ team has only five days to solve each case they’re given — it’s hard not to completely wipe the memory of Peggy Carter from our minds. We get it. She’s the daughter of the President of the United States of America. She is supposed to sound the part.
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Having said that, it would sure make it a bit easier, while we watch the actress most known for playing Captain America’s former girlfriend play a character mired in a personal battle of morality and privilege, to not hear hints of that British intonation we all grew to love.
We may be a bit sore that “Agent Carter” didn’t last on the network — it met its demise due to lackluster ratings — but one way we can try to move on is by celebrating Atwell’s continuing success in her career. We are rooting for Hayes and her team to succeed — but hearing Atwell take on an American accent makes us yearn for those Marvel-ous days of yore.
“Conviction” airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.