It’s rare for a TV show to get a second chance at finding an audience. In 1998, Rob Thomas, the creator of Veronica Mars, brought to ABC a show about a man convinced he was Cupid, the god of love, and the psychiatrist who was convinced the man was a lunatic. It starred Jeremy Piven (of Entourage) and Paula Marshall (of Seinfeld and Nip/Tuck, among others). The series only lasted 15 episodes; Piven went on to fame and several Emmy wins on HBO, Thomas went on to create a critically acclaimed show on the CW, and Marshall went on to earn a reputation as a “show killer.”
At the time, before the heyday of Desperate Housewives, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy, ABC had possibly the worst prime time schedule of the four major networks. Cupid resembled another ABC property, Aaron Sorkin’s Sports Night, in its sophisticated humour and rapid-fire dialogue, but Sports Night never found enough viewers either. There just wasn’t an audience for this very funny, often tragic, witty and wordy show that revolved around the possibility of magic.
Cupid’s Bow Gets a Second Shot
Cut to: Spring, 2009. ABC has several of the highest-rated scripted shows in primetime. Furthermore, it has taken a chance on a couple of shows – Pushing Daisies and Ugly Betty – that fit in with Cupid’s sensibility. So ABC’s given Thomas a second chance to bring Cupid to the masses; this time starring Bobby Cannavale (Will and Grace) and Sarah Paulson (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) as Cupid (or “Trevor,” as he’s known on Earth) and Claire, respectively.
The new version thus far has followed the original’s template. The pilot set up the meeting between Trevor and Claire: convinced he’s insane but basically harmless, a medical board releases Trevor from a hospital to be put under Claire’s supervision. Claire is not only a psychiatrist, she’s a relationship counsellor and holds a weekly singles therapy group. And every week, there’s a new couple that Trevor tries to fix up, convinced that once he has helped 100 couples to fall in love, the gods will allow him back on Mount Olympus.
Cupid 1.0 versus 2.0: Comparing the two Shows
It may be unfair to compare the two versions of Cupid. But with the same creator, same premise and even the same first names of the two lead characters, it’s virtually impossible for anyone who’s seen the original not to judge version 2.0 against it.
And, after three episodes, what’s clear is that whatever was wrong with the first version, it wasn’t the chemistry between the leads, because the 1998 version had tonnes, and the current version has almost none.
Cannavale is conventionally more attractive than Piven, but he and Paulson have zero snap together. Paulson is a talented dramatic actress, and has even been successful in comedy before, but she was stiff on Studio 60 and she’s stiff here; Claire seems to really dislike Trevor, instead of being amusedly exasperated by him. And Cannavale, though he’s trying hard, doesn’t have the confidence in Trevor’s omniscience that Piven brought to the role. And although there were “couples of the week” that grabbed one’s attention, it was the chemistry between Piven and Marshall that made the first version such a delight to watch.
Add to that the diminishment of the singles support group thus far, and the replacement of Trevor’s roommate Champ (Jeffrey D. Sams) who never got enough to do, with two extraneous characters (Rick Gomez and Camille Guaty as Trevor’s boss and his sister), and what we get is a Cupid that’s shooting wide of the mark.
