{"id":6450,"date":"2015-08-11T13:12:39","date_gmt":"2015-08-11T17:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=6450"},"modified":"2015-08-11T13:12:39","modified_gmt":"2015-08-11T17:12:39","slug":"strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/08\/strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series.html","title":{"rendered":"Strong &#8220;Ties&#8221;: UP TV debuts its first scripted drama series"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Ties That Bind - New UP Original Drama Starring Kelli Williams\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cMkaahAZ4r4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\"><strong><em>Ties That Bind<\/em> premieres tomorrow night (Wednesday, 8\/12) @ 9:00 PM on UP TV.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\"><strong>Cast:<\/strong>\u00a0 Kelli Williams (<em>The Practice, Lie to Me, Army Wives<\/em>), <span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">Jonathan Scarfe (<em>Hell on Wheels<\/em>)<\/span>,\u00a0<span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">Dion Johnstone (<em>Stargate SG-1<\/em>)<\/span>,\u00a0 <span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">Mitchell Kummen<\/span>, <span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">Natasha Calis<\/span>, Rhys Matthew Bond, Matreya Scarrwener and (special guest star) Luke Perry (<em>Beverly Hills, 90210, Oz)<br \/>\n<\/em><strong>Created and written by:<\/strong> Sheryl J. Anderson (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2014\/01\/ups-town-that-came-a-courtin-is-a-charmer-song-for-faith-based-alone-yet-not-alone-scores-oscar-nomination.html\"><em>The Town That Came A-Courtin&#8217;<\/em><\/a>)<br \/>\n<strong>Directed by:<\/strong> Sean McNamara (<em>Soul Surfer<\/em>)<br \/>\n<strong>Executive Produced by:<\/strong> Sheryl J. Anderson, Tom Berry and Stan Spry.<\/p>\n<p id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2168\" class=\"yiv8532908264Default\"><b id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2283\"><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2285\">Synopsis (from UP TV&#8217;s press release): <\/span><\/b><em><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">Allison McLean (Kelli Williams)<\/span><\/em><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\"> (is) <\/span><em><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">a tough and experienced\u00a0police detective in suburban Seattle.\u00a0 Like most working women, her hands are already full, balancing a demanding and dangerous job and a family &#8212; husband Matt (Jonathan Scarfe), and teenagers Jeff (Mitchell Kummen) and Rachel (Natasha Calis).\u00a0 But when she and her partner, Devin (Dion Johnstone), must arrest her brother, Tim (Special Guest Star Luke Perry), for aggravated assault, her world drastically changes as Tim is convicted and sent to prison leaving his two teenagers Cameron (Rhys Matthew Bond) and Mariah (Matreya Scarrwener) teetering on the brink of foster care.\u00a0 Having done the right thing as an officer of the law, Allison now feels compelled to do the right thing as a sister and aunt; she brings Tim&#8217;s two very unhappy teens into her home.\u00a0 Squeezing four teenagers under one roof proves to be an additional test of Allison&#8217;s strength and patience.\u00a0 It won\u2019t be easy for her husband, her children or Tim\u2019s kids either.\u00a0 In addition to investigating local crimes, the series will also focus on the joys and struggles of the teens as they adjust to their new home, their new high school, make new friends and experience love, romance, anger and jealousy.\u00a0 <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\"><strong><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">Review:<\/span><\/strong><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\"> As readers <\/span><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">of this blog know, I&#8217;ve been looking forward to this show. That&#8217;s because besides being UP TV&#8217;s first foray into original scripted series television, it revives the contemporary family drama genre (albeit expertly cross-bred with the police procedural). Some of my favorite shows growing up were of the <em>Eight is Enough<\/em> family dramedy variety and I&#8217;ve long felt television is overdue for a good new one. So, I had a soft spot for the show going in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\">While <em>Ties That Bind<\/em> certainly has a harder edge than <em>Eight is Enough<\/em>, it delivers on its solid premise by presenting believable characters dealing with tough situations with a pitch-perfect blend of humor, love, grit and human frustration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\">Kelli Williams, who spent eight seasons honing her procedural chops on the David E. Kelley legal drama <em>The Practice<\/em>, is very well cast as Allison McLean, a wife and mother who also happens to be a cop. She&#8217;s tough as nails on the job &#8212; so much so that she refuses look the other way to keep her own brother (Luke Perry in a presumably recurring role) out of the slammer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\">But her heart &#8212; and sense of family duty &#8212; won&#8217;t allow her to let her teen niece (<span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">Matreya Scarrwener<\/span><em><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">)<\/span><\/em> and nephew (<span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">Rhys Matthew Bond<\/span>) to be sent into foster care while their father sits in prison and their (unseen) mother struggles in drug rehab. Bringing them into the family (which includes Allison and Matt&#8217;s own two teens), of course, results in family tension &#8212; and the basis for the series.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\">While Allison is the serious one, her contractor husband Matt <span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\">(Jonathan Scarfe), tends to deal with things with a little more humor &#8212; bringing a very necessary element to a show like this. Scarfe, BTW, bears a strong physical resemblance to Perry. The resemblance is strong enough that, with a slight tweak to the script, it would be easy to envision Perry&#8217;s character as Matt&#8217;s brother and Allison&#8217;s brother-in-law. Of course, maybe Matt also looks like Allison&#8217;s father, partially explaining her attraction to him. Or, maybe, I&#8217;m overthinking this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\">In any event, the family dynamics at work in <em>TTB<\/em> are interesting, believable and provide lots of opportunity for growth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\">As for the procedural side of things, the show is fairly standard issue in that realm &#8212; though also with lots of room for growth. Allison&#8217;s relationship with Devin Stewart (Dion Johnstone), her African-American male partner, works as well as most any <em>Law &amp; Order<\/em> pairing (save, perhaps, Jerry Orbach and Chis Noth). At some point, I assume more about Devin&#8217;s backstory will be revealed. The fact that I&#8217;m curious shows something&#8217;s working in the chemistry between the two characters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\">Speaking of backstory, my one real criticism of the pilot is that might have been better unfurled as a two-hour movie-length episode with more attention given to Allison&#8217;s brother&#8217;s arrest and his relationship with his kids. But given the pilot&#8217;s hour-long length, all the right notes were hit in terms of tone and setting up the show&#8217;s ongoing potential.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\">Though not a religious show, the McLean family is presented in prayer around the dinner table &#8212; signaling that this show is indeed on UP and not one of the broadcast networks. However,, in terms and acting, writing and production quality, <em>Ties That Bind<\/em> (despite, no doubt, a lower budget) is easily good enough to air on an established network.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\"><em>TTB<\/em> even has a good closing theme song (<em>Back to Home<\/em> by John Myers and Tristan Prettyman) which I wouldn&#8217;t mind seeing upgraded to the opening position. As I&#8217;ve written here many times before, I don&#8217;t agree with the trend toward removing tuneful opening credits from TV shows. To my mind, there is hardly a better marketing tool for a series than a good opening theme. Every time it plays in your head, it&#8217;s like a free advertisement for the show and a reminder to tune in.\u00a0 But I digress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv8532908264Default\"><strong>The Bottom Line:<\/strong> For a first scripted series at-bat, I&#8217;d say UP hit it out of the park. <strong><em>Ties That Bind<\/em> is Highly Recommended.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\"><\/span><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\"><\/span><span id=\"yui_3_16_0_1_1439299009166_2167\"><\/span><em>Encourage one another and build each other up \u2013 <\/em><strong>1 Thessalonians 5:11<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture. Ties That Bind premieres tomorrow night (Wednesday, 8\/12) @ 9:00 PM on UP TV. Cast:\u00a0 Kelli Williams (The Practice, Lie to Me, Army Wives), Jonathan Scarfe (Hell on Wheels),\u00a0Dion Johnstone (Stargate SG-1),\u00a0 Mitchell Kummen, Natasha Calis, Rhys Matthew Bond, Matreya Scarrwener and (special guest&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13,31,1],"tags":[35,7211,8593,8587,8595,5132,8594,8365,4636,8592,8591,8504,8509,8508,6328,8505,8589,6235,8590,6130,7644,8588,5130],"class_list":["post-6450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-family-matters","category-television","category-uncategorized","tag-1-thessalonians-511","tag-7211","tag-army-wives","tag-david-e-kelley","tag-dion-johnstone-stargate-sg-1","tag-eight-is-enough","tag-jonathan-scarfe-hell-on-wheels","tag-kelli-williams-the-practice","tag-law-order","tag-lie-to-me","tag-luke-perry-beveryly-hills","tag-matreya-scarrwener","tag-mitchell-kummen","tag-natasha-calis","tag-oz","tag-rhys-matthew-bond","tag-sean-mcnamara-soul-surfer","tag-sheryl-j-anderson","tag-sheryl-j-anderson-the-town-that-came-a-courtin","tag-stan-spry","tag-ties-that-bind","tag-tom-berry","tag-up-tv"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Strong &quot;Ties&quot;: UP TV debuts its first scripted drama series<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/08\/strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Strong &quot;Ties&quot;: UP TV debuts its first scripted drama series\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture. Ties That Bind premieres tomorrow night (Wednesday, 8\/12) @ 9:00 PM on UP TV. Cast:\u00a0 Kelli Williams (The Practice, Lie to Me, Army Wives), Jonathan Scarfe (Hell on Wheels),\u00a0Dion Johnstone (Stargate SG-1),\u00a0 Mitchell Kummen, Natasha Calis, Rhys Matthew Bond, Matreya Scarrwener and (special guest&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/08\/strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-11T17:12:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John W. 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Cast:\u00a0 Kelli Williams (The Practice, Lie to Me, Army Wives), Jonathan Scarfe (Hell on Wheels),\u00a0Dion Johnstone (Stargate SG-1),\u00a0 Mitchell Kummen, Natasha Calis, Rhys Matthew Bond, Matreya Scarrwener and (special guest&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/08\/strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series.html","og_site_name":"Faith, Media &amp; Culture","article_published_time":"2015-08-11T17:12:39+00:00","author":"John W. Kennedy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/08\/strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/08\/strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series.html","name":"Strong \"Ties\": UP TV debuts its first scripted drama series","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-08-11T17:12:39+00:00","dateModified":"2015-08-11T17:12:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/08\/strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/08\/strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2015\/08\/strong-ties-up-tv-debuts-its-first-scripted-drama-series.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Strong &#8220;Ties&#8221;: UP TV debuts its first scripted drama series"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/","name":"Faith, Media &amp; Culture","description":"Beliefnet Voices - John W. Kennedy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2","name":"John W. Kennedy","description":"John W. Kennedy is the founder and Dir. of Development of The Creative Universe Entertainment\u2122, a media consultation and development company focusing on the creation, development and support of high-quality mainstream entertainment that upholds positive timeless values, including trust in God. Current projects include \"Bryant Park\" (an uplifting romantic-comedy) and \"Photo Finish\" (an award-winning sci-fi TV pilot). He has written over 100 children's novels based on episodes of the Cartoon Network series \"Ben 10\", \"Ben 10: Alien Force\", \"Ben 10: Ultimate Alien\", \"Ben 10: Omniverse\" and \"Generator Rex\" among others. He also writes Beliefnet\u2019s \"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" blog. Previously, he has produced successful news and talk programming for CNN, Fox News, Pax TV and SiriusXM. Specialties: Script Writing, Movie\/TV Novelizations &amp; Adaptations, TV Content Creation and Development, Creative Consultation, Producing and Booking News and Talk shows. He can be reached for writing, producing and consulting services at 516-640-1182.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/author\/jkennedy"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6450"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6463,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450\/revisions\/6463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}