Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sinner to saint
Between tragic weather events, political tension and social unrest, it seems as if humanity is losing its way. While it may appear that bad news is everywhere, however, stories of compassion and hope are all around us. There are people devoted to making the world a better place, and a new fantasy drama follows a man on a journey to do just that.
Jason Ritter (“Joan of Arcadia”) stars as Kevin Finn, a once selfish, materialistic young man on a mission to save humanity by performing acts of kindness and selflessness under the guidance of an unusual celestial being in “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World,” airing Tuesday, Nov. 14, on ABC.
After an encounter with a meteorite that crash lands near his family home, Kevin meets Yvette (Kimberly Hébert Gregory, “Vice Principals”), the aforementioned celestial being. She informs him that she’s here to guide and protect him as he saves humanity. Kevin is the only one who can see or hear Yvette, which can be awkward when someone catches him talking to her.
Of course, the plot may sound far-fetched to the average TV viewer, but the show has real heart. In a promo for the series, Gregory explains the meaning behind the drama’s unconventional premise.
“It’s about making ourselves better, and reaching out and making the world better,” the actress said.
That’s exactly what Kevin is tasked with doing, and he has an uphill climb. After hitting rock bottom, he returns to his childhood home to live with his widowed twin sister, Amy (JoAnna Garcia Swisher, “Once Upon a Time”), and her teenage daughter, Reese (Chloe East, “True Blood”). In the beginning, Kevin’s relationship with Reese is strained at best, but Amy encourages her daughter to give him a chance.
While under Yvette’s tutelage, Kevin learns that each generation contains 36 righteous souls who protect the human race merely with their existence. For whatever reason, Kevin is the only righteous soul left in this generation, a statistic that has plunged the world into a state of crisis. The world needs the 36 to persevere and provide hope, and now it’s Kevin’s job to “power up” his soul so that he can find and anoint a new generation of righteous souls. For her part, Yvette serves as his drill sergeant, employing very un-angelic tactics to keep him on track.
She may be hard on Kevin, but he seems to need some tough love; he hasn’t always behaved so saintly. As Ritter expressed in a promo, Kevin “certainly wouldn’t seem like anyone’s first choice to save the world” — but that may very well be the point. Even those with flaws and foibles can change the world, one act of kindness at a time.
For his part, Ritter has earned the respect of critics and fans for the work as the reluctant hero, which isn’t his first regular series role. Son of the late, great actor John Ritter and actress Nancy Morgan, the
starring biopic of the creator of Peter Pan. The next year he had an even bigger role, the title role in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” again opposite Depp.
Q: Didn’t one of the networks already try to do a show back in the ‘80s with a young black actor portraying a mayor? I think the young man playing the mayor was actor Robert Hooks’ son. Am I right?
A: You’re bang on. A full 31 years before ABC debuted this year’s new sitcom “The Mayor” (which I assume is the modern show you’re referring to in your question), the same network aired “He’s the Mayor.”
While the new show is about a struggling hip-hop artist who runs for mayor as a stunt to promote his album and then basically wins by accident, the older show had a (slightly) more believable premise — an inexperienced young man is elected mayor in a rush after the incumbent dies in office. In terms of the basic joke, however, they amount to the same thing: a culture-clash story in which an unprepared young man steeped in urban black culture must deal with the niceties and not-so-niceties of city politics.
Similar as they are, the new show is not a remake, even though they air on the same network. They are based in different locations, and none of the people involved in “He’s the Mayor” are credited in the new show.