The Catch (TV series)

Premise

The Catch follows Alice Vaughan (Enos), who runs a private investigation firm in Los Angeles, California. After becoming the victim of fraud by her fiancé, she is determined to find him—between working on other cases—before it ruins her career. Her fiancé, Benjamin Jones (Krause), is revealed to be a master con artist working for a high-stakes international crime operation along with Margot Bishop (Sonya Walger). Rose Rollins, Elvy Yost, Jay Hayden, Jacky Ido, and Alimi Ballard also co-star.

Development

On October 21, 2014, it was announced that ABC bought the original concept for a drama series about a gutsy female forensic accountant, based on a treatment written by novelist Kate Atkinson. The script was written by Jennifer Schuur. The Catch is produced by Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers, Julie Anne Robinson and Schuur. ABC ordered the pilot on January 26, 2015 for the 2015–16 television season. The pilot episode was filmed in Austin, Texas, and was directed by Julie Anne Robinson. On May 7, 2015, ABC picked up the pilot to series.

In June 2015, it was announced The Catch will take over How to Get Away with Murder's Thursday 10 ET/9 CT slot and form part of Shondaland's mid-season #TGIT block. On August 18, 2015, it was announced that the series creator Jennifer Schuur exited the series as showrunner because of creative differences. Shondaland's Allan Heinberg, who has worked on Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, then stepped in as showrunner of the series.

Casting

Casting advertisement began in February 2015. On March 2, 2015, it was announced that Mireille Enos will be playing the leading role of Alice Vaughan. Newcomer Damon Dayoub was cast for the male leading role as Alice's fiancé, Benjamin Jones. Bethany Joy Lenz later was cast as his criminal wife, Zoe. Alimi Ballard and Rose Rollins were cast as a married couple and friends of Alice and Alice's fiancé Benjamin. Jacky Ido was cast as an FBI agent who becomes suspicious of Alice, along with Jay Hayden and Elvy Yost as Alice's co-workers in her forensic firm. On May 18, 2015, Lenz revealed on her Who Say account that she was being replaced. The same day, it was announced that Damon Dayoub, the male lead, was also being replaced.

On July 14, 2015, it was reported that Peter Krause had landed the male lead role. Krause takes over the role of Benjamin Jones from Dayoub, who played the role in the pilot. On July 22, 2015, Sonya Walger was added to the cast as Margot Bishop, replacing Lenz. The pilot was reshot with the new cast members.

For the second season it was announced that John Simm would be upped to the series regular cast, while Jacky Ido would be departing the series. Ido's character Jules Dao still appears in the trailer for the second season, indicating that Ido has returned to wrap up his character's storyline.

Cast and characters

Vaughan's character received an overhaul after the pilot episode: instead of a Chicago-based auditor, she became a Los Angeles-based private investigator. She also became sexier: instead of being a "very guarded, lacquered ’50s-era Hitchcock presence," Vaughan became "peppier, a life-lover with mascaraed lashes and a closet filled with Bond girl minidresses." Her style is a "modernised look of the 1960's."

Broadcast

Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on the Seven Network on October 10, 2016. In the UK the show premiered on Sky Living.

Reception

The Catch has been met with generally positive reviews from critics, with most praising Mireille Enos' leading performance. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 70% approval rating. The site's general consensus reads: "While the jury is out on its weekly worthiness, The Catch largely yields satisfying results with tried-and-true Shondaland production qualities, fun cases of the week, and bendy plot twists." Metacritic gave season one of the show a score of 59 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."