Heather Wines/Hulu
Heather Wines/Hulu
Heather Wines/Hulu
Heather Wines/Hulu
Heather Wines/Hulu
Heather Wines/Hulu
Fill 1
Fill 1
December 06, 2016
Online Originals

Be Careful What You Wish For

Jeffrey Donovan discovers a whole new world in Hulu's Shut Eye.

Melissa Byers

Jeffrey Donovan is used to blazing new trails.

When USA Network launched Donovan-starrer Burn Notice in 2007, it was among the first of the character-driven series for which the network became famous. With his new series, Shut Eye, Donovan is starring in what Hulu hopes will be a tentpole series for their original content.

Set among the Psychic/Fortune Teller parlors in California’s San Fernando Valley, Shut Eye tells the story of Charlie Haverford (Donovan) who, with his wife Linda (KaDee Strickland) runs a string of parlors under the auspices of a Romani, or Gypsy family headed by Fonso (Angus Sampson) and Fonzo’s mother Rita (Isabella Rossellini).

Fonso and Rita are very firmly in control of Charlie’s business, and they do not hesitate to remind Charlie of that fact when Charlie’s sister steps out of line.Viewers will get a glimpse into the dark side of the Roma culture, as well as the importance of family and loyalty.

As the series begins, Charlie is running a very profitable business, reading tarot cards, lighting candles and saying prayers (for an extra $500), and telling his clients all the things they want to hear. As a result of one of his readings, Charlie runs afoul of a client’s boyfriend, who beats Charlie up, leaving him with a head injury – and the ability to have genuine visions.

From there, viewers will follow Charlie through the series as he fields his visions, his family, the Roma, and his clients, including Eduardo (David Zayas) who may or may not be a gangster, and whose son is the subject of Charlie’s first useful vision. Then there is Nadine Davies (Mel Harris), who may prove to be the Haverfords’ biggest client yet, if they can play her without bringing the wrath of Fonso down on their heads.

According to Donovan, there are a lot of steps between that first vision and the season finale, and the interaction between the Haverfords and the Roma is very much a part of that. “It’s a parallel course back and forth between the Haverfords and the Roma,” he says. “It comes to a really big conclusion at the finale, and it’s every bit we wanted it to be. It’s a very dangerous trajectory, so that the two collide, and it’s really cool.”

Donovan suggests watching it all, leading up to an incredible finale. “Wait for the finale. In fact, wait for the last one minute of the finale. All the way through, we’ve been conning our clients, but we’ve also been conning our audience.”

Does Donovan believe in psychics? “That’s an easy question, but a difficult answer,” he says. “If you had the ability to know the future, would you want to know?” When Charlie acquires these abilities, his question becomes, how will he use them? He’s essentially a bad guy using fake abilities, so will he use his newfound real abilities for good or evil? “Charlie really finds himself at a crossroads,” says Donovan.

In researching the role, Donovan, naturally, had to check out the real thing.

“I went and had my reading done. I learned a lot. It’s really fascinating what can happen when you walk through that door. It’s not just dependent upon you. It’s also dependent upon that person’s ability to read you. I’d never known anybody who went to see psychics, so this is all new territory for me. and that’s why I think I wanted to do the role.”

Another reason he wanted to work on this series is that it’s different from anything else on TV. “It’s not a cop show, it’s not a medical show, it’s not a lawyer show. We are creating completely new characters, and they’re not completely likeable. In that way, it is similar to Breaking Bad, something that hasn’t been seen before.”

The Romani culture also has not been the basis of a series before. Donovan notes, “It’s a world that hasn’t been seen on TV. I don’t think the culture has really been looked at very much.”

According to Donovan, the creators of the series found in their research that the Romani families “really have their hooks in the [psychic] industry in L.A.”

He also calls the show “noir-ish,” in that is has some of the elements of film noir, but it’s not really dark. Along with the noir themes, there is a lightness and humor in the show.

Viewers can see for themselves starting December 7, when the entire series will be available on Hulu.







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