The Whispers (TV series)


The Whispers is an American television science fiction drama series created and co-executive produced by Soo Hugh with executive producers Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Dawn Olmstead for ABC Studios.
It is based loosely on the 1951 Ray Bradbury short story "Zero Hour" from The Illustrated Man. The pilot episode was ordered to series on May 8, 2014, and debuted on ABC on June 1, 2015. On October 19, 2015, ABC canceled the series after one season.

Premise

A series of accidents occur around children, who all communicate with the same invisible and seemingly imaginary friend called Drill. They secretly play his "games" in return for rewards that Drill promises. Claire Bennigan, an FBI child specialist, investigates and finds connections not only between the different children's cases, including her own son, but also to her missing husband.

Cast

Main

Production

On May 23, 2014 it was announced the series would no longer film in Los Angeles, California and would move to Vancouver for filming. On June 11, 2014, it was announced that Brianna Brown, who was set to play Lena Lawrence, had exited the series due to creative reasons.
Production on the first season wrapped on December 20, 2014. On June 30, 2015, it was announced that ABC had let the contracts for the cast expire and if the series were to be picked up for a second season, Lily Rabe would only appear in a limited number of episodes. On October 19, 2015, ABC announced that it had canceled The Whispers after only one season.

Release

Broadcast

aired the show in Australia.

Home media

The Whispers was released on DVD in Region 1 on November 11, 2017.

Reception

The Whispers has received generally favorable critical reception. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 74% approval rating with an average rating of 6.8/10 based on 32 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Though predictable and, at times, poorly paced, The Whispers is a structurally sound and stimulating supernatural mystery with an enjoyable ensemble of creepy kids." On Metacritic, the series holds a score of 61 out of 100, based on 21 critics, signifying "generally favorable reception".