‘Calling’ adapts Mishani books, keeps spirituality at series’ core
Viewers of “The Calling” will quickly learn it isn’t a typical TV police procedural. Just two minutes in, the lead detective on a murder case bows quietly over the dead body — and prays.
Detective Avraham Avraham is an unusual figure in the New York Police Department: a keen observer of human behavior from his study of philosophy and his Orthodox Jewish faith.
“I’m proud to play a Jewish detective that is religious,” says Israeli-born actor Jeff Wilbusch, who portrays Avraham. “It’s very unique to have such a show. And I think it’s an important story to tell.”
Peacock’s “The Calling,” which co-stars Juliana Canfield as Avraham’s partner, is from celebrated showrunner, writer and executive producer David E. Kelley, with Oscarand Emmy-winning
Barry Levinson directing two episodes, and
Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro providing the music. Based on a book series by Israeli crime writer Dror A. Mishani, “The Calling,” now streaming, puts a Jewish detective who quotes from the Torah front and center during a new wave of antisemitism.
“We’re living in tricky times, sad times,” says Wilbusch. “I believe very much in the power of storytelling. You know, I don’t know how much power I have, but I’m very proud of the series.”
“The Calling” is a quirky, more quiet show, using melodies that borrow from the Middle East and cinematography grinded into the gritty streets of New York City, where it was filmed during spring and summer this year.
“This is a different
animal. It’s not going to be for everyone,” says Kelley. “It’s a battle to wrestle for the viewer’s attention, and when you use as your vehicle to wrestle a more quiet character in a quiet show, it brings certain challenges with it.”
Wilbusch’s Avraham, or Avi to his colleagues, is a lone wolf of a detective — brilliant but a bit standoffish and sometimes too blunt. He doodles pictures of fish on napkins to relax and can read a room — and a suspect — like no other detective.
“The mood of the show is intentionally enigmatic,” says Canfield. “Avi is a detective who operates in a different way from your run-of-the-mill detective. And I think the show mirrors his approach in a lot of ways, which is to say the show and Avi are both deeply interested in character and human behavior.”
The first season centers on the case of a missing teen, which stretches out over the eight, hourlong episodes. Avraham is always trying to get inside the head of a suspect or victim, even sitting quietly on the edge of the missing teen’s bed to feel his essence.
“He sees the world with empathy,” says Wilbusch. “He believes every single one of us is entitled to
infinite respect — doesn’t matter where he comes from, which faith he belongs to and the color of his skin.”
The interplay between Avraham and Canfield’s rookie detective is delightful. She is an ambitious, by-the-book cop who sees him use his pools of knowledge and hyper-detailed observations of social behavior to crack cases.
She becomes the yin to his yang. “She isn’t put off by his sometimes alienating tendencies. And I think she’s also someone who has things to teach him about how to stay grounded and how to come out of his cloud-covered genius castle in the sky,” says Canfield.
“She manages to surprise him,” says Wilbusch. “They build a very interesting relationship that they never knew really that they needed so badly.”
The original book was set in Tel Aviv, Israel. Kelley and the creators decided when moving it to New York that they needed to keep religion and spirituality at its core.
“We just thought, ‘We’re not going to shy away from that.’ Far from being alienating, it’s engrossing, and it’s enriching with the characters. So we decided to sail right into it,” Kelley says.