Cleverman: US reviews

US reviews for Cleverman, which premiered this week on SundanceTV are a mixed bag, although most agree it has plenty of promise.

Hunter Page-Lochard is described as “magnetic,” “scruffily appealing” and “moodily effective” while Deborah Mailman wins considerable praise.

But there are several reviews confused by the storyline, noting the aid of a press kit or IMDb to work out who-is-who and what is going on. As one review suggests, for now Cleverman is too busy building a world to tell its story.

It premiered to 197,000 US viewers on AMC-owned SundanceTV with a 0.04% share in 18-49 demo.

Examiner:
Cleverman’s debut has set a compelling storyline in motion, exploring aspects of Aboriginal culture and mythology while presenting a conflicted central character who appears to be only devoted to himself and his own interests. Is he worthy of being the Cleverman and how will Jimmy’s choice of Koen over Waruu affect the Hairypeople? The only way to know is to tune in next Wednesday at 10. More videos are available at Sundance TV. There is a lot of world-building in the premiere episode, and it’s clear this is a show that needs to be viewed as a whole rather than episode by episode to really determine if it can effectively build its world and tell its story, but the first episode shows promise.

Boston Herald:
“Cleverman” is unlike any other TV miniseries you’ve seen before. The gritty Australian production uses a sci-fi backdrop to test notions of racial identity and integration with a twist of supernatural terror….. The first episode is confusing, introducing a multitude of characters and agendas. Stay with it. The second episode brings several of the characters and the conflicts into focus. You might have to suspend your disbelief a bit as a couple of the Hairies look like the Geico caveman. It’s a shock when one is forcibly shaved in prison. A Hairy teenager hides for a time with a kindly elderly woman. “You have to decide who it is you want to be,” she advises the girl. But in “Cleverman,” claiming an identity is no easy decision, not when the world seems pitted against you.

LA Times:
The series is “comic book” not just in its subject matter but also in the sense that the natural implications of extraordinary circumstances are not bothered with. Characters break in and out of what should be secure locations with uncanny ease. And the narrative can sometimes be confusing. But the multiple, long arcs become legible, and sort themselves out satisfactorily in the end, if not in any way surprisingly.And there are good, under-the-top performances that enliven characters fetched from mothballs: the media mogul in search of great power (Glen); the depraved politician; the ambitious reporter; the amoral scientist; the sadistic warder. Page-Lochard is moodily effective as the slow-to-waken champion. (More than one character is told they need to choose a side.) But Mailman suggests that a 43-year-old woman with emphysema is the toughness the world really needs.

Flavorwire:
The Cain and Abel angle is one of a few elements of Cleverman that feels a little worn; the segregation plot is also a bit familiar, and the dialogue can be stilted and clichéd (“Past is the past. Can’t change it”). Ironically, considering the Cleverman conceit, the writing doesn’t move as seamlessly between the supernatural/sci-fi elements and the more realistic aspects of the series as it could. When Koen demonstrates for his friends his newfound ability to heal himself, like Hayden Panettiere’s cheerleader character on Heroes, his buddy Blair (Ryan Corr) declares, “That demonstrates a level of awesomeness that is truly badass.” But the show — which boasts an 80 percent Indigenous cast — features strong performances, particularly from Deborah Mailman, who plays Koen and Waruu’s mother figure, Aunty Linda. (Like the aunts on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, it’s unclear exactly how old she is, but Cleverman, an Australian/U.S. co-production, adheres to the age-old habits of Hollywood in casting the 44-year-old Mailman as the 37-year-old Collins’s mother). Page-Lochard is scruffily appealing as Koen; there’s a glimmer of Michael B. Jordan in his sensitive tough guy routine. And Tasma Walton — who plays the mother of the family evicted in the first episode, who is later sold off and pimped out to men who are sexually attracted to Hairies — does excellent work without much dialogue, expressing all the panic, confusion, and pain of her situation with little but her eyes.

New York Times:
In “Cleverman,” a new Australian series that begins on Wednesday on SundanceTV, a cleverman is an Aboriginal hero who can heal, see the future and connect the spirit world to the human world. With all that going for him, maybe he can also keep track of what the heck is going on in this appealingly gritty but haphazardly constructed show…….Like a lot of Australian television and film, “Cleverman” has a rough immediacy in its pacing and cinematography that helps to make up for its deficiencies elsewhere, and if you have an appetite for sci-fi conspiracy thrillers, it’s worth sampling. The largely Aboriginal cast will be mostly unknown to American viewers, but “Game of Thrones” fans will recognize Iain Glen (that show’s loyal Jorah Mormont) as a media mogul.

Tampa Bay Times:
Like many sci-fi shows, Cleverman tries to find a balance between politics and mythology. Even though Americans might be unfamiliar with its history and Australia’s indigenous racism, the human-rights nuances are relevant to any society. But the show is not for everyone. Cleverman is disturbing in its violence as well as in its emotions. The mythology woven into the story makes for some entertaining science fiction, but it’s hard to level with the show’s severity when it oversteps its welcome. And it doesn’t help that the “Hairies” look straight out of a Geico commercial. But the heart of the show rests in its magnetic lead. Relative newcomer Hunter Page-Lochard plays Koen West, who inherits the role of Cleverman after his uncle dies. He’s marked with two eye colors to represent his indigenous origin as well as superhuman healing and fighting power. Koen hesitantly embraces his new role as the conduit between the worlds as he struggles with his own identity. But his half-brother, a Hairy activist, wanted that job, and the two don’t see eye-to-eye on how to lead the Hairypeople community.

TV Equals:
Well, THAT happened. On the premiere of the new Sundance series, “Cleverman,” a lot of things happened and not a lot of it made sense, but I can only assume that the show knows what it’s doing and where it’s headed, as explaining the plot is going to take some doing. Hell, if it weren’t for IMDb, I don’t know if I’d even know most of these characters’ names. When it comes as a relief when someone actually introduces themselves by name, I’m not sure what that says about a show. But if ever there were a show where captions might come in handy, it’s this one, between those names and those accents. (Alas, I didn’t have that option.)…..Factor in the supernatural underpinnings and this could be interesting, especially once it starts making more sense, which hopefully, it will. If not, well, it’s at the very least, a fairly interesting premise and just compelling enough to keep one watching, especially with the limited pickings during the summer months, where reality TV, game shows, and various competitive shows reign supreme.

AV Club:
Unfortunately, the first season of Cleverman is too busy building a world to tell a story. It’s a familiar trap for genre shows. Cleverman boasts familiar trappings, too, most notably the tribal fantasy ghetto of Star-Crossed and the mute telepathic genetic experiment who uncomprehendingly waves a gun around on Firefly. But too often it’s content to establish these pieces instead of developing them. In lieu of a monster of the week for the Cleverman to vanquish, there’s the season-long threat of the Namorrodor. But it doesn’t attack every episode, and the Cleverman only battles it once. That’s partly because Koen takes so long fighting his destiny, although what he’s actually doing while he’s not acting as Cleverman is mostly forgettable. And what is the deal with the telepath? It’s not a full-fledged mystery. It’s just a fog of hints and suggestions so far…… Cleverman is so full of characters and ideas, and now that everything’s in place, it wouldn’t be surprising if the show capitalizes on them in season two. Through its thorough world-building, it offers a rich setting. The season may be carelessly carved into episodic chunks, but the city and the cast and the cultures have been very carefully arranged. And despite some of the exaggerated authoritarianism, the producers have a deft feel for real-life extrapolation, such as when Koen’s friends make him show off his superpowers for their entertainment. If only he’d do it for ours. Cleverman is full of potential. It just takes all season to embrace it.