Persons Unknown (TV series)
Persons Unknown is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Christopher McQuarrie that was aired on NBC from June 7 to August 28, 2010, during the summer of 2010. The show revolved around strangers who wake up imprisoned inside a small ghost town with no memory of how they wound up there.
The thirteen-episode summer series premiered on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 10:00 p.m. On June 30, NBC moved the show to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday from its Monday time slot. It completed its run on August 28, 2010.
Overview
Seven diverse strangers, Janet Cooper, Joe Tucker, Moira Doherty, Sergeant Graham McNair, Tori Fairchild, Bill Blackham, and Charlie Morse awaken in a hotel, in a mostly deserted town, with little to no knowledge of how they got there or where they are. The hotel and small 1950s-era town nearby are completely filled with cameras and microphones. Over the course of the following weeks, they are subjected to significant psychological and physical stress. Meanwhile, an investigative reporter begins to look into the disappearances of the missing people despite intimidation by those who apparently know their every move.Joe is eventually revealed to be a member of "The Program." It is unclear who or what the Program is, or what their motives, resources, or support are. The only indication is that the Program is manipulating them, attempting to influence their behavior, thought patterns, and beliefs.
At the end of the season, despite staging a mass breakout by faking the deaths of everyone in the town except for Joe, all the participants are recaptured, and awaken in an identical hotel built into the hull of a container ship, where the original night manager welcomes them to "Level 2". Joe and Mark Renbe are seen waking in a second hotel, in which Tori Fairchild serves as the hotel manager. Kat Damatto and Ambassador Fairchild are last seen in cages at an undisclosed location.
Cast
Abductees
- Joe Tucker, according to NBC.com, is the official leader of the group and is forceful and direct. He also knows military hand signals. Although he prefers to keep his personal life to himself, and never reveals what his occupation is or why he might have been taken, he claimed that he was in New York when he was abducted. Joe is also competing with Ericka for the heart of Janet. He claims to be deathly allergic to bee stings. Later in the series, it was revealed that Joe was a Roman Catholic priest before he was part of the Program.
- Janet Cooper is a day-care owner from San Francisco. She is a single mother to a five-year-old girl, Megan Cooper. She was once married. However, her husband left in the middle of the night, abandoning his daughter and wife. Janet has a strained relationship with her mother whom she claims was abusive. Janet has hired investigators to find her husband.
- Sergeant Graham McNair is a level-headed Marine. He is a devout Muslim at the beginning of the series, stating that he became devout due to the treatment of prisoners at a government facility that housed alleged terrorists. He also worked as a mercenary at one time with tragic results.
- Moira Doherty was a mental patient at St. Mary's Hospital in Sandusky, Ohio. Moira is the most peaceful and kindly of the abducted people, but has a darker past. It is implied that she is a habitual liar. She serves as the doctor of the group.
- Tori Fairchild is a wealthy socialite. Her father is the American ambassador to Italy and former head of the CIA. The NBC website described her as "privileged, pragmatic, and manipulative". She woke up in the hotel having no knowledge of where she was because she thought she "partied too much". She believes her father has sent her to the location to punish her for tarnishing his political image. She implies that he exchanged promises of her sexual favors to important political figures.
- Erika Taylor, according to NBC.com, is a tough as nails ex-con who sees everyone as her enemy even her fellow abductees. Erika has an eleven-year-old son named Anton and reveals that before arriving she was executed at the prison in which she was confined.
- Bill Blackham, according to NBC.com, is a slick opportunist whose first priority is himself. Blackham describes himself as a used-car salesman, and stated that the last thing he remembers before finding himself in the hotel was being pulled over by the police in a traffic stop. He is very mistrustful of those around him, but the other abductees are dismissive of him.
- Charlie Morse is the CEO of a very successful investment firm. He is married and states that his wife is mentally unstable and emotionally, if not physically, dependent on him. According to NBC.com, he is "a fierce fighter who doesn't take kindly to being intimidated or threatened."
- Kat Damatto is "a smart, sexy and hard-nosed editor at a muck-raking tabloid" in San Francisco. She is Mark Renbe's boss and lover. She is also fluent in Italian and Spanish.
Other main characters
- Mark Renbe is a journalist in San Francisco who is always on the lookout for scandal. He investigates the bizarre disappearance of his ex-wife Janet Cooper despite his boss believing that there is no story there.
- The Night Manager is the sole employee of the hotel in which the abductees awake. He first appears in their first evening in town. He represents himself as another pawn in the abductions but is later revealed to be part of the Program.
- Sam Edick is introduced as a private detective Janet Cooper hired to find her missing husband.
- Tom X is introduced as the head of the staff at the Chinese restaurant in the town.
- Robert Gomez is a police detective who continually communicates with Mark.
- Liam Ulrich is the second-in command of "The Program". He first appears in Episode 8, "Saved".
- Ambassador Franklin Fairchild has been a member of the program for 30 years. He is Tori Fairchild's father. Tori believes he is guilty of her mother's death. He appeared in six episodes.
- Helen has been the director of the program for 25 years. She has a twin sister, the deranged, Angela Barragan, that is visited by Kat and Mark to learn more information about the program
Episodes
- † These episodes of the series did not air on some NBC affiliates due to local NFL preseason games that were scheduled to air in those cities in late August before NBC moved the show from Monday to Saturday nights.
- ‡ The episode "Seven Sacrifices" did not air on NBC at all, due to the network making the decision to air an NFL on NBC broadcast. Instead the episode was posted on NBC.com.
Production
Persons Unknown was created by Christopher McQuarrie. In September 2008, Fox announced that it was beginning production of the series, which was co-financed by Televisa in Mexico and Italy's RAI. Filming began in late October 2008 in Mexico City, soon after announcement that Michael Rymer was hired to direct the first episode. Thirteen episodes were produced.
In March 2009, Variety reported that Fox was looking for a network to purchase the series. NBC announced it had acquired the broadcast rights to the series in July 2009.
In July 2010, executive producer Remi Aubuchon promised that the show would “provide all the answers to the questions that we set up”. The series finale was criticized for not following through on this statement. On April 3, 2012, in an interview with CliqueClack TV, producer and writer Remi Aubuchon revealed many of the unanswered plot points of the series, including some of what was planned for a second season.
International broadcast
Country | Channel | Premiere date |
Canada | Ztélé | March 15, 2011 |
France | TPS Star | April 4, 2011 |
Serbia | Fox Crime | |
Japan | Fox Crime | |
Philippines | CHASE on BEAM 31 | |
Denmark | TV2 Zulu | 14 July 2012 |
Greece | FX | |
Italy | Rai 2 | |
Poland | Fox Polska | 2 April 2012 |
Spain | FOX Crime | |
Lithuania | TV3 Lithuania | 4 October 2011 |
Middle East and North Africa | OSN | |
Netherlands | RTL5 | |
Russia | REN-TV | |
New Zealand | TV3 New Zealand | 18 February 2012 |
Norway | TV2 | |
United Kingdom | Syfy | 31 October 2011 |
Czech republic | Prima Cool | 1 July 2012 |
Belgium | 2BE | 21 July 2013 |
Finland | MTV3 | 8 December 2013 |