Famed explorer Dr. Emmet Cole went looking for "magic" deep in the uncharted Amazon basin and never returned. The shocking truth about his disappearance is out there, somewhere, just waiting to be discovered. To the millions of children who grew up watching his nature show, Dr. Cole was a hero. To his own son, Lincoln, he was more of an enigma. Now, six months after he vanished, Lincoln is finally ready to bury the past when Dr. Cole's emergency beacon suddenly goes off. At the urging of his mother, Tess, Lincoln reluctantly joins her on a search for his father. To fund the rescue, they agree to let Dr. Cole's cagey ex-producer, Clark, film the mission documentary-style. The mixed crew of old friends and new acquaintances includes the missing cameraman's daughter, Lena Landry, ship's mechanic Emilio Valenzuela, and private security bodyguard Captain Kurt Brynildson.
Cast and characters
Main
Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Emmet Cole, a famed explorer and TV personality
Joe Anderson as Lincoln Cole, a medical student and Emmet's son
Leslie Hope as Tess Cole, Emmet's wife and Lincoln's mother
Eloise Mumford as Lena Landry, Lincoln's childhood friend and Russ' daughter
and Michael R. Perry created the series about a documentary crew searching the Amazon for a beloved scientist-explorer-television host. Peli told The Hollywood Reporter that producer Steven Schneider "became obsessed with this idea of nature run and animals taking over humans." Peli stated, "I started developing the idea of a missing documentary reporter who went to this weird place in the rainforest where strange things would happen". He added, "We were developing it as a low budget movie, but... I had a meeting with Steven Spielberg". Spielberg suggested doing a television show with Peli. Perry added his thoughts, saying, "Why waste on a movie, when you can do a TV show where every season they go to a different place". Then, they pitched the whole pilot to Spielberg. In September 2010, ABC won a bidding war against NBC for the rights to the project. In February 2011, after a re-write by Michael Green, ABC green-lit the production of the pilot. In May 2011, ABC committed to produce eight episodes, announcing that the show would premiere in the 2011–12 mid-season. The pilot episode was filmed in Puerto Rico and the next seven episodes were produced in Hawaii.
Release
The River premiered in the U.S. and Canada on February 7, 2012. The series aired in South Africa on DStv on February 21, 2012. In India the series started airing on STAR World on March 3, 2012. In the United Kingdom the series has been picked up by Syfy on October 9, 2012 after being premiered on iTunes on February 8, 2012. On May 22, 2012, ABC and DreamWorks/Amblin released the first season of The River in DVD format on to the United States and its territories, Canada, and Bermuda. Entitled "The River – The Complete First Season", the package includes all eight episodes in their entirety and features deleted scenes and episode audio commentaries.
Episodes
Broadcast
The River premiered in the U.S. and Canada on February 7, 2012. The series aired in South Africa on DStv on February 21, 2012. In the United Kingdom the series was not initially picked up by a traditional broadcaster and instead premiered on iTunes on February 8, 2012. However, Syfy announced that it would air The River starting October 9, 2012 at 10pm.
Critical reception
The show has been met with generally favorable reviews, with a collective score of 64/100 from Metacritic from 27 critics. Matt Roush of TV Guide called the show "a terrifying heart-stopper, a cleverly cinematic supernatural adventure that takes us on a wild ride into an exotic heart of darkness." USA Today's Robert Bianco stated, "There are moments when The River, with its curse-around-every-corner setup, threatens to topple over into farce. But a strong cast and that things-that-go-bump-in-the-night shooting style so far keep the show on course". However, Mike Hale of The New York Times rated the show poorly, saying "The mixture of Lost storytelling and Paranormal Activity style is neither intriguing nor particularly scary, and it doesn't help that there's hardly a glimmer of humor".
