‘Castle’-like ‘Instinct’ premiering on CBS
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PASADENA, Calif. — Fans of “Castle” take note: Will you accept a reboot of the canceled 2009-16 ABC series with Alan Cumming replacing Nathan Fillion? If so, CBS has the show for you.
“Instinct” (8 p.m. Sunday) is essentially “Castle” by another name.
It’s also about an author/former CIA operative, Dr. Dylan Reinhart (Mr. Cumming), who teams with an NYPD detective (Bojana Novakovic) to solve cases.
“There were not any discussions about the similarities,” said “Instinct” executive producer Michael Rauch.
“She’s Serbian as well,” Ms. Novakovic pointed out about “Castle” star Stana Katic.
“Those things are, I guess, similar,” Mr. Rauch acknowledged of the logline descriptions of both shows. “But I think the origin of how the stories are launched is quite different. ‘Castle’ only came up in terms of tone. There’s an urgency and stakes but it should also feel very light throughout.”
Based on a James Patterson novel, “Instinct” marks the first broadcast network hourlong drama with a gay lead character, Mr. Rauch (“Love Monkey”) said. Mr. Cumming, who previously co-starred on CBS’s “The Good Wife,” said he was drawn to the role because Reinhart is a multidimensional character.
“He’s sort of a fuddyduddy professor, a bit of a dandy, a former spy, drives a motorbike, he’s gay, so there’s all these different layers,” Mr. Cumming said. “That it’s the first network drama to have a gay character is an incredible thing and also a terrible thing at the same time [because it took so long].”
Mr. Cumming said the character’s sexuality is the fourth or fifth most interesting thing about the character, another layer.
“It’s interesting to play socially and politically especially in the time we find ourselves in in America where gay people are persecuted again and rights are being removed and the president is actively condoning it by his silence about violence and persecution against the LGBTQ community. [That makes it] all the more important to have a character with a healthy, successful, samesex marriage on network screens.”