Ever since Freeform announced it was developing a new mermaid drama for the network almost two years ago, we’ve been eagerly waiting for it to hit our screens. In fact, we were so excited about the news, that we even made some art for it back when it was still under it’s working title “The Deep,” which you can check here!
The young adult network at the time had a massive hit with Pretty Little Liars, a touching family drama in The Fosters, and others. But what was missing from its primetime lineup was a good supernatural series. Sure, Freeform gave us the eerie summer camp supernatural/horror series Dead of Summer, but what we’ve been craving from the network is a good creature feature. At long last, Siren premiered — and we couldn’t be more excited!
The small, quaint town of Bristol Cove is forever changed when a group of fishermen catch something at sea that is unlike anything they’ve ever seen. First their wild catch attacks one of their own, leaving him severely injured, then moments later, both the injured fisherman and whatever it was they caught is quickly taken by the military by helicopter.
Back on shore, marine biologist Ben Pownall runs into a strange girl whom he believes is on drugs. He quickly discovers that she is a mermaid and that she came to Bristol Cove in search of her sister, the creature who was caught at sea by the military. With the help of his girlfriend Maddie and the town’s truest believer Helen, they are all catapulted in a crazy journey to find her.
Freeform’s Siren works mostly thanks to executive producers Eric Wald and Emily Whitesell (“Finding Carter,” “Life Unexpected”) who wanted the supernatural series based as much as possible in reality. If mermaids were real, what would bring them to shore and how would they behave? Those questions will be answered throughout the season.
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The very diverse group of actors who lead the ensemble also assist in the believability of the series. As marine biologist and conservationist Ben Pownall, Alex Roe (“Rings,” “The 5th Wave”) expertly shows how he can be rebelious towards his family, then quickly show empathy for the mysterious girl he meets. As the top-level predator mermaid, Eline Powell (“Game of Thrones”) is both beautiful and alluring as Ryn. You can feel her wonder as she discovers the simplest of things on land, then feel her fear and frustration as she hits a roadblock in regards to finding her sister.
Ben’s girlfriend Maddie, played by Fola Evans-Akingbola (“Game of Thrones,” “Death in Paradise”) is a perfect match for the conservationist. The two have great chemistry on screen. We’re glad she’s part of the team helping Ryn. And finally, as the “town nut job” Helen, Rena Owen (“The Straits,” “Shortland Street”) is simply fantastic. Owen just exudes love, warmth and friendliness and plays her character with kindness and approachability, that it’s no wonder why Ryn returns to her antiques shop.
We’re also digging the tone of the show; it’s giving us major The Secret Circle vibes, which we’re all for. In fact, fans of The CW’s gone-too-soon, spellbinding series will recognize one of the locations in the pilot of the Vancouver-shot Siren.
One aspect of the series we’re not too fond of is the whole military, secrecy angle the series is going for. Sure, some organization had to take Ryn’s sister Donna, because that appears to be the story for the show, at least for season one. But we would’ve preferred something along the lines of mermaid hunters (Siren Snatchers?). As the series moves forward to hopefully more seasons, we hope it’ll be more mythology and less military.
What we’re most thankful for is that EPs Wald and Whitesell didn’t turn the series into a police procedural where the lead mermaid helps the Bristol Cove Police Department solve crimes — a series where Ryn would use her mermaid/siren powers to help catch killers or other criminals. Nothing against vampires, zombies, mediums, psychics, devils, etc. helping out their local PD, but we want this show to stick to being one about the mermaids and how it affects the denizens of Bristol Cove, and not be a case-of-the-week show where Ryn is sooo close to identifying a suspect, but wait — she needs to go back into the ocean for a sec because she’s in pain!
As of this writing, Siren‘s 2-hour series premiere has become Freeform’s biggest drama launch in over two years, the networks’ best-ever drama digital debut, and Thursday’s most social scripted cable series — and from the first several episodes we’ve already seen, it’s easy to see why.
Bottom Line: Siren is a splash and is Freeform’s must-sea creature feature we’ve been dying for!
Siren airs Thursdays at 8pm on Freeform.