The Nine Lives of Chloe King


The Nine Lives of Chloe King is an American supernatural drama television series which premiered on ABC Family on June 14, 2011, and ended on August 16, 2011. The one-hour drama is based on the book series of the same name by Liz Braswell. The series follows Chloe King, a girl who discovers that she is a descendant of an ancient race of Bastet offspring called the Mai, as she attempts to learn more about her cat-like powers with her friends and protectors, while also assuming the role of the "Uniter", a warrior that can stop the war between Mai and humans. Chloe is also bestowed with nine lives and must stay alive while dealing with her love life and the mysteries behind her missing father.
In September 2011, ABC Family announced its cancellation after one season.

Premise

The protagonist, Chloe King, is a teenager who discovers she has special cat-like powers, including nine lives, enhanced speed, strength, hearing, agility, night vision and the ability to extend her nails like cat claws, along with the ability to sense human emotions.
When Chloe realizes a mysterious figure is shadowing her, she goes on to uncover that she is a descendant of an ancient race called the Mai. She discovers she has nine lives and is told by Jasmine and Alek that she alone can protect the race from human assassins, who have hunted them for thousands of years.

Characters

Main

The Mai are an ancient race of supernatural beings, the mortal descendants of the Ancient Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet. Chloe learns she is a member of them on her sixteenth birthday.

History

The Mai once acted as defenders and companions of the human race, first as guardians for Egyptian pharaohs. Descendants of the Egyptian cat-goddess Bastet, the part-god, part-human Mai used their cat-like attributes to serve and advise humans. The Mai's role as protectors lasted until the 16th century BC when they were defeated by the Ramesses. The daughter of Ramesses III fell in love with a Mai, but the pharaoh banned their nuptials, so they eloped. When the humans and Mai learned of the union, the Mai boy was apprehended and killed by the Egyptians, causing the divide between the two races to grow deeper. As the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt began, the Mai were shunned from society and an organization called The Order emerged. The Order, a group of human assassins, began hunting the half-god race until they were nearly extinct. The fight between the Mai and the Order forced the Mai into hiding and is said to have been so violent, it is supposedly the cause of some of the world's most famous and bloodiest wars.
The Mai are also mortal enemies of the Jackals, a race descended from the Egyptian jackal-god Anubis. The Jackals are described as being filthy and savage, as well as the dregs of society. Ironically, the Mai display the same racist attitudes towards Jackals as The Order display towards the Mai themselves. According to Alek, every ancient god has offspring but only those two were introduced.

Present day

The Mai have now spread out worldwide, with Mai settlements in such places as New York City, Ukraine, San Francisco, São Paulo, Russia, and Hong Kong. Folklore predicts a "Uniter", a Mai born with nine lives, is the only one who will be able to end the Mai-Human war and restore balance between the two races. When Chloe is pushed from Coit Tower and is killed, but returns to life, her Mai peers Alek and Jasmine conclude she is the Uniter with eight remaining lives.

Characteristics

Because of their cat-like abilities, the Mai were natural protectors of the Egyptians and possess several abilities and gifts, and also several weaknesses. Traits include:
Any intimate actions between a Mai and a human is harmful to the human, resulting in the human's paralysis or death within a few hours. Only the Uniter can be resurrected, although each death will get more painful as time goes on. In addition to nine lives, the Uniter is also an Empath, able to detect and experience the emotions of humans. Chloe can feel other species' emotions, like the Jackals, but this does not work on the Mai. According to Valentina, all Mai once had this ability.

Episodes

Production

The show is written by Daniel Berendsen and is based on Alloy Entertainment's series of three young-adult books by Elizabeth J. Braswell. Alloy produced the series.

Promotion

In preparation for the premiere, ABCFamily.com rolled out "", an online game encouraging users to uncover the secrets of the Mai and find The Uniter in order to unlock exclusive content and enter to win a chance to visit the set. Bloggers, or members of the Circle of Strangers, shared additional clues for the game, and users were encouraged to follow their sites as well as their Twitter feeds with the term #NinePaths.

Reception

Critical response

The series has received mostly positive reviews, gaining a score of 68 out of 100 on Metacritic. Slate reviewer Troy Patterson praises the series, calling it "charming" while also observing that it covers familiar ground. Daily News writer David Hinckley writes "ABC Family wins with mix of teen romance, supernatural powers".
The pilot episode drew over 2million viewers when it debuted in June 2011. The season, and ultimately the series finale had dropped about half of that initial audience, drawing just over 1million viewers.

Awards and nominations

Television film

On January 9, 2012, during the Winter TCA Press Tour, ABC Family's president Michael Riley announced that the network was "on the verge of putting a movie into development". On September 11, 2013, TV Guide revealed that the working title of the movie was The Nine Lives of Chloe King: Salvation, and that while it would not be filmed, Alloy Entertainment would release the script on September 13.