Posted in: NYCC, TV | Tagged: HRL, nbc, reverie, tv

Finding Human Connection At NBC's Reverie Pilot Screening

The Reverie panel at New York Comic Con 2017 kicked off with a screening of the pilot episode, to the packed house's delight. Attendees didn't really know what to expect, other than that it starred fan favourite actors like Sarah Shahi from The L Word and Person of Interest, Sendhil Ramamurthy from Heroes, and Dennis Haysbert from 24 — and it involved virtual reality. The panel was filled beyond capacity, with dozens of people having to stand at the back when there were no more seats.

Reverie was created by Mickey Fisher, who previously created Extant for Amblin and NBC. The series follows Mara Kindt, a former hostage negotiator who's hired to enter a new virtual reality program to talk people trapped inside to come out to the real world again. Reverie is a new technology that recreates a user's memory and lets them revisit it. However, it might be too good, as some users refuse to come out and their physical bodies end up in a coma and deteriorate. Mara has to find out what drove these people to want to escape into virtual reality to start with and bring her understanding of their motivations to convince them to rejoin the real world.

The emphasis is on psychological drama, but the show goes all out with its budget and special effects, ensuring that this was an A-list project the network is putting its weight behind.

The pilot established the rest of the cast: Dennis Haysbert is the company's Chief of Security, a former cop who used to work with Mara and brings her over to help rescue the people trapped in Reverie. Sendhil Ramamurthy is the creator of the VR worlds who monitors Mara's progress. Jessica Lu plays Alexis Barrett, the savant-like genius who invented the Reverie tech, and Kathryn Morris is Monica Shaw, the Department of Defense's liaison with the company — who might have her own agenda in the DoD's interest in the Reverie technology.

The audience reaction to the pilot was everything the makers could have hoped for: silence, and even sniffles during the emotional scenes, since it was something of a tearjerker as it unfolded. Human connection was the key theme, and the panel afterwards touched upon these themes and the tragedies that inform the characters and drive the series. The cast and crew touched upon this in depth at the press roundtable.

Executive producers Fisher and Tom Szentgyorgi talked about how the characters' personal stories will drive the scenarios they encounter in virtual reality. The panel talked about the dangers of technology alienating people and isolating them, as well as the need to reconnect with people.

The panel climaxed with series lead Sarah Shahi's impassioned plea for everyone to look up from their phones and make real connections with another person without a phone or device as a barrier between them.

"It's so funny that Mickey wrote the line in the pilot, 'Look up'. Because everyone in this room has a phone, and they should be used to make our lives better. It should add to what's already there, not take away from it.

I feel like sometimes we get so wrapped in our phones, in being able to look anything up. We can reach anybody at any time; it takes away from the most important thing, which is that we're here to live, to be present. Look up from your phones. It's all about the dangers of what could happen if we get too caught up in that world and become disconnected. What the show does really well is have this beautiful balance of how cool this new world looks and the dangers when you lose what you have with that person next to you, that touch, that eye contact — the things that make us human."

"We're not being dystopic about this," Fisher said. "The central idea of the show is that technology, if you use it right, can help you see where you are."

Reverie is set for release in March 2018 on NBC.

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