On Halloween, CBS released “Tell Me A Story,” a new psychological thriller that combines beloved fairy tales with horror in modern day New York City.
“Tell Me A Story” was created by former “The Vampire Diaries” producer Kevin Williamson and can be watched every Thursday as episodes are released online.
“Tell Me A Story” premiered on Halloween with CBS All Access. This thriller takes the fairy tales of “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” and “The Three Little Pigs” and sets them in modern day New York City. @CBSAllAccess
“Tell Me A Story” begins with an illustrated title sequence with beautifully drawn images that begin cheerily, but slowly turn to the dark and twisted look the show embraces quite well. It shows the images of the fairy tales that are expected to be seen in the show’s season including “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “The Three Little Pigs” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” The fairy tale images are also intertwined with images of modern sights and subjects of New York City that allude to themes and ideas that could be seen throughout the show.
As the title sequence ends, the audience is thrust into a rainstorm as Mitch (Michael Raymond-James) bangs on Eddie’s (Paul Wesley) door making sure that he is still up for an important heist with Sam (Dorian Crossmond Missick) that seems to involve pig masks and guns.
Eddie (Paul Wesley) and Carla (Justine Cotsonas) overlook events happening in the club they work. @CBSAllAccess
The next scene cuts to a fast-paced sequence of other characters including Jordan (James Wolk) running, and Hannah (Dania Ramirez) biking through bustling New York City. It ends in Kayla Sherman’s (Danielle Campbell) bedroom as she ruffles through boxes, a sign that she has just moved to the city to live with her grandmother Colleen (Kim Cattrall) and father Tim (Sam Jaeger) due to her mother’s passing. Colleen attempts to get Kayla to warm up to her by being concerned about her health, due to the weather later that day, by offering her a red slicker.
Another cut and the audience is in Jordan and girlfriend Beth’s (Spencer Grammer) bathroom, learning that the story takes place in modern day America and that they are a couple who has a hopeful plan for their future in which the audience learns doesn’t entirely match up. The next cut takes the audience to meet roommates Billy (Luke Guldan) and Gabe (Davi Santos) as they complain about rent and work. Viewers later meet Hannah officially, learning that she is a personal trainer and a veteran having served some tours elsewhere.
Kayla Sherman (Danielle Campbell), Tim Sherman (Sam Jaeger), and Colleen (Kim Cattrall) sit down for a first breakfast upon Kayla’s arrival to the city. @CBSAllAccess
Like any new show, there is always a little awkwardness as new characters are introduced to the audience. “Tell Me A Story” tries to include so many characters within a short time span that there was a bit of confusion in actually understanding who they were upon first meeting them. Some got introduced by name, yet for some, the audience had to wait for their next scene or even the scene after to learn who they are. By the end of the episode, there was a decent enough understanding of the different protagonists, but more episodes are truly needed to learn about each of the character’s motives and goals.
Also, there seemed to be a bit of disorganization because there are so many characters in the show. With so many roles, there is much to explain and structure well, but the pilot episode had some transitions that felt displaced making it difficult to follow at points, therefore taking away some of the impact. A few of the scenes seemed like they could have been moved around to make stories clearer and more impressionable upon the audience who already knows the fairy tale stories. Because of its disjointedness, it was hard getting to know a character and to get emotionally attached, so their actions and fates weren’t all that impactful; the audience couldn’t get behind a character to root for them.
This disorganization made it hard to remain interested in the show, and therefore some of the thrills of the first episode were lost. With a little more rearranging, certain obvious emotional moments in the show could have been more emotional for the audience if only they got to know the characters better.
Gabe (Davi Santos) and Hannah (Dania Ramirez) search for any information of the incident that happened in the hotel Gabe was staying in the night before. @CBSAllAccess
One of the things that the audience will enjoy seeing throughout the show is all the nods and references of the characters to their correlated fairy tale. Symbols such as pig masks used by Sam, Mitch and Eddie when they rob the jewelry store during a peaceful protest about police brutality alludes to “The Three Little Pigs.” Other references include the red slicker Colleen offers Kayla as red riding hood’s cape. Little references are made as to who the big bad wolves of both “The Three Little Pigs” and “Little Red Riding Hood” may be as well, but the show lets the audience remain in mystery and doesn’t answer every question point-blank just yet though there seems to be obvious contenders in Jordan and Nick (Billy Magnussen) respectively.
Another small aspect of “Tell Me A Story” that was done beautifully was the music choices throughout the episode. The music chosen felt right for the scenes and set the pace and mood of said scenes. The music seemed to tie together the certain transitions that felt like they were supposed to click together during the episode. One song, in particular, a song chosen for a character’s ringtone, really allowed for an interesting glimpse into the mind of a character that seemed to have just figured out things in life until tragedy strikes at the end of the pilot episode.
Jordan Evans (James Wolk) leads his soon-to-be fiancé in a crowd of protesters. @CBSAllAccess
The show does have an element that may draw some people in but turn others away, and that is social and political topics. There does seem to be a bias on where the show stands politically, and as this is only the first episode, there isn’t a full understanding of just how much these biases will impact the story and characters’ choices, but already it seems like it will be an undercurrent to the show. Some may argue that it makes the show more realistic, but only time will tell as more episodes are released.
“Tell Me A Story” is a show rated TV-MA for some language, violence, sexual situations, alcohol and drug use. So, for those who prefer something a little less intense, this may not be the show to watch, but for those who wish for a bit of horror thrill, this may be the reason to subscribe to CBS All Access to watch.
Overall, 3.5 out of 5 paws.
