State of Affairs - Pilot Review

Premiere Date: Nov. 17^th 2014

Network: NBC

Starring: Katherine Heigl & Alfre Woodard

Genre: Political and Espionage Thriller

Even without watching one minute State of Affairs, I knew my biggest qualm with the show was the casting of Katherine Heigl as its main star. Katherine Heigl is best known for her role as the caring, voluptuous, blond surgical intern on Grey’s Anatomy. Unfortunately, she burned bridges with not only the creator of Grey's but she also pissed off a lot of fans over the way she left and her actions leading up to her leaving the show. After Grey's she had a few so-so parts in Rom-Coms on the big screen, essentially playing the same type of character over and over. So, I was not expecting much from her new show, and to be honest the promos haven’t helped. The scene in the promo where she talks about “ending all of their lives” comes across phony and calls into question her ability to pull off her role in the show. Yesterday, I got a chance to see the pilot episode and while I know many people are skeptical, it is without a doubt a show worth watching. After 42 minutes of State of Affairs I have no qualms in saying Katherine Heigl pulls of her character flawlessly.

State of Affairs as a series, is a show closer to the Blacklist in terms of; excitement, action, writing and drama, than it is to the almost too boring to watch Madam Secretary. While not as witty and manipulative as Red is on the Blacklist, Charleston on State of Affairs has her own charm. The show is filled with secrets, spies, guns, loyalty, inter-agency fighting, barbaric threats, and the type of action sequences usually left for the big screen.

 State of Affairs follows Katherine Heigl as Charleston (Charlie) Tucker, the former almost daughter-in-law to the president of the United States. Just one year after the death of her fiancé. Charlie has not quite moved on, and is drowning her loneliness by wrapping herself around the bodies of random men and too much scotch. But being lost in her personal life hasn't stopped her from being able to do her job. Tasked with putting together the Presidents Daily Briefing (PDB) Charlie along with her team asses and rank the threats currently facing the United States, The question of her life becomes what’s an actual threat vs. what’s just the possibility of a threat. When others feel she has gotten it wrong, her day gets filled with backstabbing co-workers, a spy in the CIA building, choosing between saving a doctor or killing a wanted terrorist, an unwanted house-guest, and someone sending threatening messages to her phone. I don’t want to ruin how it ends but I can guarantee you it’s not how you think. I thought State of Affairs would come across as a watered down over acted drama but instead it has the feel of a political thriller.

I was beyond pleasantly surprised at not only the quality of the production but the writing as well. With the (PBD) needing to be completed every day, State of Affairs will most likely be an episodic show in nature with a strong overarching mystery to tie the episodes together. Set to take The Blacklist’s place when it goes on hiatus for the winter, I urge everyone to watch at least the premiere with an open mind. I’m sure you’ll be as immediately hooked as I was. I’d like to thank Entertainment Weekly and NBC Universal for letting me see the premiere early.

Don’t forget to Watch State of Affairs  Monday 11/17 @ 10pm After the Voice on NBC!