Review: Off 'The Deep End'

You may not know who Matt Long is but you might have seen the young actor in recent advertisements for his new ABC television show “The Deep End.” Long has appeared in a couple of major motion pictures including “Ghost Rider” and “Sydney White” but he will likely gain more notice for his new role on a disappointing television show that Variety.com noted is little more than a sibling show to “Grey’s Anatomy,” about lawyers instead of doctors. It is disappointing to see the engaging Matt Long is on a show like this, especially considering that he did far superior work on television several years ago on the WB program “Jack and Bobby.”

On his new show, Long plays Dylan Hewitt, a new idealistic associate at a law firm. The show revolves around a group of young lawyers finding themselves in “the deep end” of their profession as they start working full time in “the real world.” The first episode of the series showed the young characters dealing with work dilemmas that law school did not prepare them for. For instance, Hewitt had to fight for a mother to gain custody of her child against the wishes of his tough boss, played by Billy Zane. Hewitt is tempted to do the wrong thing in the case but inevitably he decides to do what is right for the child, a cliched plotline that falls flat.

However, the show seems to be far more interested in these young associates’ personal lives than their professional careers. Unrealistically, the personal indiscretions of these associates often take place in their new offices. When Hewitt arrives in his new office for instance, the lawyer he is sharing his office with has his pants around his ankles after an “encounter” with an office secretary. The show only gets worse in its first episode as the characters sleep around with each other nonchalantly. These are associates trying to have other people take them seriously and they act like a group of college kids on a long weekend. One new associate, in particular, even has time to “get physical” with a client in the first episode (and in the second episode, he is kissed by numerous girls in his office as part of a kissing contest).

At its best, “Grey’s Anatomy” had some solid storylines going for it and it did not have to rely on characters sleeping around to find success. In its first episode, “The Deep End” has already hit a low point in that regard. In its review of the show, Variety.com noted that “when diving into a ‘Deep End’ that’s this shallow, the risk is that if you don’t hit the water just right there’s a good chance of breaking your neck.” Like that reviewer and myself, it seems like viewers were unimpressed with the new program as the show premiered to lackluster ratings last week. If those ratings remain low, “The Deep End” might not be around to make any waves.

It is unfortunate that actors like Long are wasted on this show. As I noted earlier, Long was previously on a brilliant show named “Jack and Bobby.” That show revolved around two young brothers and their liberal mother. The twist on that show was that one of the brothers would, years after the childhood depicted on the show, become a Republican and later become the President of the United States. It was a fantastic concept well executed but the promising show only lasted one season. Matt Long played the older brother Jack and he was great in it. (To watch full episodes of that program, click here because it looks like the show has not been released on DVD yet.)

Matt Long may have a long and interesting career ahead of him. I think he has great potential and that he deserves a great show to focus audience’s attention on him. Unfortunately, “The Deep End” is not that show. “The Deep End” is a disapponting show that would rather show viewers a youg cast of characters sleeping around with each other rather than an idealistic group of lawyers trying to make something of their law degrees. There is little reason to jump in this deep end. I give it a C-.