Two very powerful, notable men in Hollywood – J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuarón – appeared at the TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour today to discuss the new TV series they’ve collaborated on, Believe, debuting this March.

Believe centers on a little girl, Bo (Johnny Sequoyah), who has superpowers -- or is that supernatural powers? -- that she can’t yet fully control or access. Those abilities have led to many pursuing her, some to help her, some to exploit her, and the series involves Tate (Jake McLaughlin), a convict broken out by the mysterious Winter (Delroy Lindo) and his colleague Channing (Jamie Chung) to help Bo and keep her away from the seemingly nefarious Skouras (Kyle MacLachlan).

Cuaron came up with the idea for Believe, co-writing and directing the pilot. Abrams, who’s executive producing, noted, “Over 20 years ago, I met Alfonso Cuaron and I’ve desperately wanted to work with him ever since.” He said he’d been waiting, “Until Alfonso called and said I have this idea for a TV show.” Abrams said that he would have been interested no matter what -- and didn’t realize Cuaron was going to call him with his own idea, not another writer's -- but once he heard it, “It was too exciting” to pass on.

“It was the right time,” said Cuaron, who went from making his huge hit Gravity to Believe, adding, with a laugh, “I wanted to do something where people were not floating.” To which Abrams replied, referencing a moment in the show’s trailer, “Alfonso, did you see that clip? She is floating!”


Cuaron said he liked the idea of “this girl who has this mystery and this odd couple turning into a father/daughter relationship.” He said he wanted to explore the idea of healing and that when he explained the set-up, Abrams replied that it was like “the first chapter of a Stephen King novel.”

As to whether the show would follow a more procedural or serialized route, Abrams said, “It’s a little bit of both. There’s going to be some procedural elements. Each week there will be someone Bo meets out in the world that she helps. But they’ll also be larger mythological elements that will be revealed.” In short, it sounds like other Abrams produced series like Fringe and Person of Interest, blending the two styles – though we’ll see if Believe, like those two series, gets more serialized as it progresses. Abrams praised NBC, saying, “They’ve been amazing at supporting that we want to have a show people can come in and out of but, like Fringe, has an overall mythology to it.”

With Cuaron obviously very busy, the question was asked how the show’s other writers and directors tried to follow in those intimidating footsteps. Said EP/showrunner Jonas Pate, of knowing Cuaron had established the template, “It’s way more difficult. I was the first person up after Alfonso [to direct an episode]. I tried to keep that style going.”


Cuaron said the Believe crew have done a great job “choosing artistic elements to achieve that cinematic approach” that he was going for. But he added, “It’s not only about the cinematic approach, it’s about the emotional core of the show. Even though there are supernatural elements, pretty much it’s the story of a family.” McLaughlin backed up the praise for the crew, saying “They’ve done an outstanding job,” and have incorporated “those signature long pans” in Cuaron’s style.

Believe has had some upheaval behind-the-scenes, moving through a couple different showrunners before settling on Pate. Asked about that, Abrams replied, “It’s not a quantifiable thing. This is the show that feel like the continuum that continues from the pilot.” He added that the previous showruners were, “Creative, wonderful people. The fit just wasn’t right.” Abrams said he felt that these kind of early transitions aren’t unusual for any new venture but in TV, "It’s public, so everyone knows it’s out there. It’s the process” He added that ultimately, “ I think we’re in an inspired situation.”

Pate entered Believe as a director, not a writer, and it’s unusual for someone in that position to be made showrunner. Said Abrams, “Whoever can do it, who demonstrates the ability and the desire, is the one to do it. This is not a cookie cutter show where you know exactly the person who’s done this [type of] show. It' not a typical procedural, not a typical cop show.” He said it was about “finding the right creative voice” to match what Cuaron established and "it was clear we had it in the family and luckily, Jonas was willing and able.

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