Happy Town is a new ABC drama set to premiere Wednesday April 28th at 10pm Eastern/9pm Central. Slice of SciFi was recently given advanced access to the premiere episode, and I jumped all over it because the previews I’d seen for it had reminded me of American Gothic, one of my favorite failed shows of the 1990’s.

The Cast:
Amy Acker (Angel & Dollhouse)
M.C. Gainey (LOST)
Steven Weber (Wings)
Sam Neill (Really? You don’t know?!?)
Robert Wisdom (The Wire)
Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under)
Jay Paulson
Ben Schnetzer
Lauren German
Sarah Gadon (Being Erica)
Geoff Stults (October Road)

The Premise:

Happlin (referred to as Happy Town by some of the locals) is your typical small town: sleepy, family friendly and full of quirky, small town characters that are in on everyone’s business and each likely hiding their own dark secrets. Years ago, a rash of missing persons was blamed on a local bogeyman known only as the Magic Man. Neither the Magic Man nor his alleged victims were ever found, and when folk stopped disappearing, the town tried to forget it ever happened. As the show starts, a brutal murder and the arrival of a new person in town start stirring things up and hint at a deep well of sinister lurking beneath Happlin’s shiny veneer.

Like a less bizarre Twin Peaks or an American Gothic without the overt supernatural elements, Happy Town appears to be a mystery show with a side of suspense and a dash of soap opera shenanigans thrown in for good measure. The show starts with a murder mystery and quickly veers into spooky with the introduction of the Magic Man myth and the odd ravings of the local sheriff (M.C. Gainey). My eyes did roll a bit at the teen angst of a young couple who must hide their love because the boy’s family (the Happlins – basically town royalty) wouldn’t approve, so I hope they either don’t spend much time there or that it develops quickly into something less cliche.

Visually, Happy Town makes quite an impact. Whether it’s the spooky nighttime murder taking place in a shack on a frozen lake, the spectacular shot of the morning sun shining through the hole in the murder victim’s head, or the bucolic pictures of small town life we glimpse as the just-a-little-bit-too-enthusiastic real estate agent takes Henley (Lauren German) on a tour through town, the production team has done a great job of infusing each scene with the right amount of atmosphere and realism.

The acting is uniformly good, although no particular actor is given the opportunity to truly shine, there doesn’t appear to be any weak links in the cast. I was disappointed that the premier did not introduce us to Frances Conroy’s Peggy Haplin character yet. I have fond memories of her from Six Feet Under and am looking forward to seeing her sink her teeth into another fascinating role. Here’s hoping Happy Town delivers that for her.

While it’s not the kind of show premiere that grabs you, shakes you up and makes you count the days to the next episode (LOST & 24 being the only ones in recent memory for me), I am definitely invested in seeing more. The key to the success of this series for me is that the writers and producers need to already know the answers to all the mysteries and questions they’ve raised and have a good plan for how they will gradually reveal that information to their audience in the most entertaining and gratifying way. If all they’ve done is come up with some things they thought sounded spooky and cool and figured they’d work it out later if the show became a hit, we’re all in trouble. That being said, at this point, I’m certainly willing to give them the opportunity to prove that they know what they’re doing and they’re ready to knock me out with what they have planned.

All in all, Happy Town is a promising new show that could build into something wonderful if the producers and writers get the pacing right. They’ve laid the right foundation with a solid cast and good production value. Mysteries like the Magic Man, what Merritt Grieves (Sam Neill) is up to, why Henley Boone (Lauren German) is really in town, and what the heck is on the 3rd floor of the Meadows Boarding house have certainly hooked me into wanting to see more. However, as with any show relying on an ongoing story arc across multiple episodes and (hopefully) seasons, if facts and revelations aren’t doled out appropriately, the audience could easily get frustrated and lose interest.