The Calling

The characters have been provided with robust enough backstories and personalities, and are played commendably by Wilbusch and Canfield, but The Calling never stops feeling small in its execution—both mysteries restrict themselves to two couples/families as their suspects, flitting back and forth until one is exhausted and a clear, unsurprising culprit is found.

The series puts a spiritual spin on the police procedural, carrying out a compelling investigation but ultimately struggling to uncover anything profound.

The show doesn’t dig very deeply into Avi’s method, or how his belief system enables him to perform his tricks, nor does it follow through on any of the ethical issues his unconventional methods might raise; it simply pursues the procedural material. That wouldn’t be a deal-breaker if the two missing-person cases that make up the eight-episode season were more compelling. They lean hard on very familiar crime-solving tropes, cycling through red herrings on autopilot.

With Kelley writing and Levinson directing, there’s no chance that The Calling is going to look or feel like the average network police procedural. ... We’re just not sure what to make of how Avi is characterized on the show, if any of his fellow cops are anything but one-dimensional characters. ... Completely short circuits a deeper sketch of Avi himself but makes religion and faith into a tool instead of a way of life.

Because this is nonetheless a cop show, “The Calling” is content to pad Avi's work life with hallowed tropes. ... Each supporting character is played with enough charisma, despite the show’s progressively dull tone and visual palette that turns Barry Levinson’s initial two episodes into generic work.

Much of his [Avraham's] expert findings rely less on intuition than on an ability to detect the groaningly obvious, as when a young interviewee loudly gulps and Avraham yelps “You just vomited in your mouth, Benjamin, and I can see that you’ve swallowed your vomit. Are you nervous, or is this something you do?” ... [David E. Kelley's] trademark precision and knack for character seems to have evaporated. “The Calling” boasts a good idea for a central figure — but that’s about all it’s got.

When we finally arrive at the conclusion of The Calling after a belabored journey that never finds its footing, a forced setup for another season falls flat on its face one final time with nothing substantial to hold it up.