Believe (TV series)
Believe is an American fantasy drama television series that was broadcast as part of the 2013–14 United States network television schedule on NBC as a mid-season entry. Originally 13 episodes were to be aired, but only 12 were aired in the U.S. The series was created by Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Friedman. The series began on March 10, 2014, and was canceled on May 9, 2014. The final episode aired on June 15, 2014. Plot. Bo is a young girl who was born with special supernatural abilities that she could not control. As  these powers started evolving, the people who were protecting her were forced to turn to an outsider for help. This led them to William Tate, a wrongfully convicted death-row inmate, whom they break out of prison. Although he is reluctant to take on the role as her protector, the two eventually form a bond that guide them to helping each other, as well as others, while staying one step ahead of the evil forces that want the girl. Development and production. The series first appeared as part of NBC's development slate in September 2012. In January 2013, NBC  green-lit production of a pilot episode. On May 12, 2013, the series was placed on the network's 2013–14 schedule, where it was expected to debut after the 2014 Winter Olympics. On July 17, 2013, co-creator and executive producer Mark Friedman departed the series. Cuarón stayed on board as executive producer alongside J.J. Abrams. Friedman was ultimately succeeded by Dave Erickson. A few months later, in December, Erickson also stepped down as executive producer/showrunner and was replaced by Jonas Pate, who was serving as a co-executive producer and series director. Pate ran the day-to-day  production of the series along with Hans Tobeason, who served as "on-set" producer in New York, where filming took place. To allow a smoother transition for the new showrunners and accommodate script re-writes, production went on hiatus from December 20 to January 6, 2014. Every scene in the pilot episode is a long take (One of Cuaron's trademarks), but that format was dropped beginning with the second episode. Casting. McLaughlin (Tate) was the first regular to be cast in February 2013, followed by Lindo (Winter), Sienna Guillory, Chung (Channing) and ten-year-old newcomer Sequoyah (Bo). MacLachlan  was added in March 2013 as was Arian Moayed. In June 2013, Guillory was dropped from the series after the pilot, with producers choosing not to continue with her character, professional hit-woman Moore, going forward. Moayed, whose character Corey was originally conceived to be Moore's right-hand man, was quietly dropped as a series regular after the second episode. Reception. Critical reception. "Believe" has received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show has an approval rating of 39% based on 38 critics, with an average rating of 5.4/10. On Metacritic, it holds an average score of 55 out  of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Broadcast. The series premiered in the UK on the Watch channel on March 27, 2014. It airs in Canada on the CTV network, and in Latin America on the Warner Channel. It premiered in Australia on the Nine Network on April 15, 2015.