The premise of ABC’s new legal drama The Fix sounds exciting. Hollywood, a celebrity murder trial, and a “Who done it?” mystery to unravel. On paper, it reads like a smash hit that should’ve debuted last Fall. It didn’t, and here’s why.
The pilot episode is painfully boring. A series like this should start with a bang and slowly reveal the exposition as it goes. Instead, you get a full 60-minute episode of introductions to nine characters, putting you to sleep in the process. ABC is going to have a tough time getting audiences to get over the show’s debut blunder, but those who make it to the last scene might be left wanting more.
Maya Travis is a former District Attorney in L.A. who lost a high profile celebrity murder case eight years ago. When the same celebrity is wrapped up in another murder case, she can’t stay away. Now back in L.A., she is reunited with former colleagues, enemies, and a killer who doesn’t want her snooping around.
The lead character is hard to like and it doesn’t help that the entire cast of characters feels burned by her. It’s another unfortunate aspect that’s going to make The Fix a hard sell. It’s curious that ABC pushed the show through when the opportunity to rewrite and retool the series was there. I got to screen the second episode as well and these flaws aren’t unique to the pilot.
The series is co-produced by Marcia Clark, lead prosecutor from the O.J. Simpson case. It feels directly inspired by her past and knowing this makes some of the issues with The Fix seem a little more clear. But with so many fictitious elements thrown in, it doesn’t feel as grounded in reality as you would expect. Lawyer’s sitting in a high-tech command center watching live feeds of celebrity clients on a fake version of TMZ cause some much deserved eye rolls.
The suspect of Maya’s past and current trial is Sevvy Johnson, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Ten Days in the Valley). It’s white woman against black male and that seems problematic for a 2019 series. They give enough reason to be unclear if he committed the crime, but it’s a dynamic that is sure to alienate a lot of viewers, no matter how this case ends. The only way it could be more contentious is if the lead character was a white male.
The dialogue almost begs you to forgive the creator’s obvious attempts to make this another O.J. Simpson-based series, without the ability to use that name or likeness. It sort of feels like you’re watching one of those Lifetime unauthorized biographies. The Fix has more in common with Britney Ever After and The Unauthorized Full House Movie than it does The People v. O.J. Simpson.
Save yourself from this trainwreck and avoid The Fix. It has a nine-episode order, but I’ll be shocked if ABC lets it finish its full run. It’s a dud on all accounts and audiences would be better off giving Whisky Cavalier a shot than wasting their time with this piece “O.J.”
I give The Fix 1 out of 5 disappearing shirtless boyfriends irrelevant to the rest of the show.