The time has finally come for Syfy’s SurrealEstate to make its spooktacular debut! The series opener introduces a newcomer to an agency that specializes in haunted and possessed houses. The firm takes on two properties, each with its fair share of surreal phenomena. Written by George R. Olson and directed by Paul Fox, here’s what went down on the series premiere.
The Roman Agency is introduced to its newest agent, Susan Ireland (Sarah Levy), who came from a high-profile job at Livingston Kent. She meets the eclectic team spearheaded by Luke Roman (Tim Rozon) — Phil (Adam Korson), who does title work, research, and background checks; August (Maurice Dean Wint), designer and builder of their proprietary technology; and Zooey (Savannah Basley), the office manager who “knows where all the bodies are buried.”
Susan is completely oblivious to the type of work her new agency does. But she is quickly given the rundown thanks to a keynote presentation Luke gives her. SMEP: Specialists in Metaphysically Engaged Properties. She doesn’t believe in the supernatural or paranormal, and Luke even gives her the option of changing her mind and going back to her previous job. She shares that she had been fired from Livingston Kent due to a relationship with her married boss that didn’t end well.
The agency has taken on a new client in med student Megan Donovan (Tennille Read). While working in her study, strange things have begun to happen, such as the lights flickering, her stereo glitching, and even the photos in her textbooks seem to have a life of their own. Luke learns that there is no record of the Donovan house even being built, and must be at least 100 years old. Phil and August investigates the house and finds a demon dog hiding in the basement.
The morning after a terrible haunting where Megan was transported onto a surgical table and nearly cut open, Luke reveals to her that his mother had gone to the house many years ago to complain about the weeds in the yard. He doesn’t know who opened the door, but he does know that after she walked through them, she never came back out. Megan tells him about a wine cellar that her grandfather had wanted to build in the basement, and he decides to check it out for himself.
They head downstairs and throws the demon dog a piece of porkchop to distract him, while they go deeper into the basement. They learn that the dog, a supernatural beast, has been guarding a hell hole. Megan finds a well and is transfixed by the portal she sees in it. Suddenly, a giant hand with a long arm reaches out and chokes the homeowner. Luke runs to her aid and slams the lid of the well until the hand recoils into the portal. Luke slams it shut and locks it. He informs Megan that he will get a welder to seal it shut, and without the energy of that open portal, the demon dog will move on.
Meanwhile, Susan is tasked to take over another property, the Lenore house, on 7 Castle Place. The agency was called because the family living in it had suspected a poltergeist. There had been stuff flying out of drawers, mirrors cracking, plates breaking, etc. However, after a lot of tests, the team found no signs of a poltergeist. The homeowner’s angsty teenager Lauren (Jessica Clement) really wants Susan to get rid of whatever it is that’s going on in the house. The girl says it’s embarrassing and impacting her socially.
The agency did a preliminary investigation of the subdivision and found that the line of houses was just developed 12 years prior. There were no battlefields or ancient burial grounds, and no spiritual instability that made it into the public record. The Lenore family has them stumped. It was only after a visit to the hospital where Susan started to put the pieces together and figure out what was really going on.
Lauren and her parents were having a family dinner when a big stone clock flew off the mantle and hit her father right between the eyes. It was shortly after Lauren had come home late, and it was her tardiness and her “lack of respect for our family time” that delayed the dinner. Lauren’s father Herb explained to Susan that having a late dinner impacts his blood sugar. Susan learns that just before the clock hit Herb in the face, it had been shaking a little bit, which caused something to click in Susan’s head.
The agency’s new hire walks into the hospitals waiting room and finds Lauren on the phone with her boyfriend sounding a little frustrated. The crying toddler in the room makes it hard for Lauren to speak on her phone, so she steps away and into a corner and continues her conversation. Susan looks on at Lauren and sees the crying toddler and can’t help but do something. Suddenly, a doll just out of reach starts to levitate and float toward the toddler until it falls right into the toddler’s arms. A relieved smile appears on Susan’s face.
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Susan later finds Lauren in the hallway and opens up to her. Susan was able to see the signs and tell that just like her, Lauren has telekinesis. She says to the young girl that she knows she’s the one who has been tossing salad forks and mantle clocks. “You’re not doing it on purpose,” Susan tells her, “but you have to stop it.” She explains that telekinesis is something that happens to some kids. “You will learn to control it,” Susan assures her. “Trust me.”
The next day, Susan asks Luke how he found out about her — the telekinesis and the fires she had caused at her previous job. He says that his research is how he found about her and what she can do. She tells him that she believed she was in love with her former boss, and believed that he would leave his wife. With nowhere else to go, Susan decides that she will stick around at The Roman Agency.
“I believe it’s going to be very interesting working for you.”
“I believe that you’re right.”
What are your thoughts on the series premiere of SurrealEstate? Did you love it as much as we did? Let us know in the comments below!
SurrealEstateairs Fridays at 10pm on Syfy.