''Forever'' is an American
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
that aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
as part of the
2014–15 fall television season. Created by Matt Miller, it centers on the character of Dr. Henry Morgan, an
immortal
Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life.
Immortal or Immortality may also refer to:
Film
* ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film
* ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
medical examiner
The medical examiner is an appointed official in some American jurisdictions who is trained in pathology that investigates deaths that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictio ...
who uses his extensive knowledge to assist the
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
(NYPD) in solving crimes and to discover a way to end his immortality. Flashbacks within each episode reveal various details of Henry's life.
The series' network aired a sneak preview on September 22, 2014, and resumed the series at 10 p.m. EST on September 23, 2014. Reception of the series was mixed. In the United States, television critics were divided over the series' similarity to other crime dramas and its premise. In contrast, voters in several online polls ranked the series as one of the best of the television season. ''Forever''s broadcast was well received in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
Although ABC gave the series a full-season episode order on November 7, 2014, it cancelled ''Forever'' after one season. ABC cited the show's low ratings as the rationale behind the decision. Television critics believed that other factors explained the network's decision, as the show gained viewers who watched up to seven days later on their DVRs. Fans of the series reacted strongly, creating a social media campaign to save the series; despite these efforts, the series remains canceled.
Premise
Dr. Henry Morgan (
Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd (; (born 6 October 1973) is a Welsh actor. He first came to public attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in ''Titanic'' (1997), and then for his portrayal of Horatio Hornblower in the ''Hornblower (TV series), Hornblower'' seri ...
) is a New York City medical examiner who studies the dead for criminal cases, and to solve the mystery of his own
immortality
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality.
Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...
.
His first death was 200 years ago while trying to treat a slave as a doctor aboard a ship in the
African slave trade
Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean ...
; one of the ship's owners becomes frustrated with the time and effort Henry is putting into this and orders him to stop, shooting Henry and throwing him overboard when he fails to comply. Each time he dies, Henry disappears almost immediately and returns to life naked in a nearby body of water, the only sign of injury being a scar at the site of his original gunshot wound from long ago. He has also stopped aging. Henry's long life has given him broad knowledge and remarkable observation skills which impress most people he encounters, including
New York Police Department Detective Jo Martinez (
Alana de la Garza
Alana de la Garza (born June 18, 1976) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Connie Rubirosa on the NBC television series ''Law & Order'' in its last four seasons through 2010, ''Law & Order: LA'' until the show's conclusion in 2 ...
). Only
antiquarian Abe (
Judd Hirsch
Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS seri ...
), whom Henry and his now-deceased wife Abigail found as a newborn in a
German concentration camp
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, knows that he is immortal.
Henry is stalked by "Adam", who is also an immortal, and claims to have been alive for around 2,000 years.
Cast and characters
Main
*
Ioan Gruffudd
Ioan Gruffudd (; (born 6 October 1973) is a Welsh actor. He first came to public attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in ''Titanic'' (1997), and then for his portrayal of Horatio Hornblower in the ''Hornblower (TV series), Hornblower'' seri ...
as Doctor Henry Morgan:
: Born in 1779, Henry is a
New York City medical examiner who studies the dead for criminal cases and to solve the mystery of his immortality.
His first death was in 1814 while trying to free slaves as a doctor aboard a ship in the
African slave trade
Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean ...
in the
Caribbean.
Since that time, Henry disappears each time he dies and returns to life naked in a nearby body of water.
He has been married twice; his first wife Nora, whom he married before he became immortal, had him committed to an asylum,
and his second wife, Abigail, whom he met during the Second World War and remained with until 1984, when she left to find somewhere they could be together without being judged for Abigail's apparently greater age. He abandoned his original career as a doctor in 1956 after he and a butcher were shot; Henry chose to crawl away and die instead of trying to save the other man because he feared others finding out his secret.
Although knowledgeable about many topics, Henry demonstrates a general lack of knowledge about modern
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
. He also dislikes cell phones but will use one if necessary.
*
Alana de la Garza
Alana de la Garza (born June 18, 1976) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Connie Rubirosa on the NBC television series ''Law & Order'' in its last four seasons through 2010, ''Law & Order: LA'' until the show's conclusion in 2 ...
as Detective Jo Martinez:
: Jo is a sharp, no-nonsense, determined detective with the NYPD who is both intrigued and disgusted by Henry's detailed medical knowledge when examining a corpse. She finds his behavior to be "out there", but still relies on his insight for solving homicides.
Originating from a rough background with a law-breaking father,
she is also a recent widow;
her husband was a lawyer who died of an unexpected heart attack while running on a treadmill on a visit to Washington a year before she met Henry. She is stationed at the 11th Precinct.
*
Joel David Moore
Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen ...
as Lucas Wahl:
: Henry's assistant in the Medical Examiner's office, who expresses uncertainty about how little he knows about his boss, and an uncanny memory for his daily activities. He studied film in college before working in the medical examiner's office. He makes
horror films
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoc ...
in his spare time; in the episode, "
The Last Death of Henry Morgan
"The Last Death of Henry Morgan", the 22nd and final episode of the American television series ''Forever'', first premiered in the United States on May 5, 2015 on ABC. It was written by series creator Matt Miller and Chris Fedak, and Brad Anders ...
", Lucas confesses to using the morgue as a set for several of his movies.
Lucas tends to use popular culture references in his speech, many of which Henry does not understand.
*
Donnie Keshawarz as Detective Mike Hanson:
: Jo's partner, who is stationed at the 11th Precinct. He was in a band when he was younger, a characteristic added at the request of
AfterBuzz TV
AfterBuzz TV is an online broadcast network that specializes in after-show podcasts for several television series including ''Game of Thrones'', '' Big Brother'', ''The Flash'', ''Real Housewives'', and ''Grey's Anatomy''.
Created by Maria Menou ...
hosts Kate Aquillano, Marielou Mandl, and Pegah Rad and of fans of the series who watched the after show. He is married and has two sons.
He also has a brother.
During an earlier interview with AfterBuzz TV, Keshawarz discussed Hanson's role as Henry's foil, namely Hanson's orthodox methodology in solving cases and knowledge accumulated over a limited lifetime contrasting with Henry's unorthodox ways and extensive knowledge gathered over a long life. This was particularly demonstrated in "The King of Columbus Circle", when both deduced that their victim had been suffering from cancer, Henry observing various tell-tale signs of chemotherapy such as stained hands and slight hair-loss while Hanson just noticed the medical alert bracelet the dead man was wearing.
*
Lorraine Toussaint
Lorraine Toussaint () is a Trinidadian-American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Toussaint began her career in theatre before ...
as Lieutenant Joanna Reece: Jo and Hanson's supervisor at the 11th Precinct.
*
Judd Hirsch
Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS seri ...
as Abraham "Abe" Morgan:
: Henry's adopted son and main confidant.
No one knows Dr. Henry Morgan better than his son, Abe. The keeper of Henry's immortality secret, although he has claimed that he worked with Henry's father to explain their association to strangers.
At the end of World War II, he was rescued from
Belsen
Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentr ...
, after surviving a
death march
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...
from
Auschwitz.
He currently owns an antique store where Henry uses the basement for his immortality research on himself. Abe fought in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
and has a two-time ex-wife named Maureen Delacroix (
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...
).
Abe's research into his family tree revealed that he is a distant relative of Henry's, as one of his ancestors was the illegitimate son of Henry's womanizing uncle.
Recurring
*
MacKenzie Mauzy
MacKenzie Grace Mauzy (born October 14, 1988) is an American actress. She played the role of Phoebe Forrester on CBS daytime soap opera ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' from 2006 to 2008, and recurred as Abigail on the 2014 ABC television drama s ...
as Abigail Morgan:
:Henry's second wife and Abe's adoptive mother. Henry met her toward the end of World War II when they were working as medical personnel near one of the Nazi concentration camps.
Over the years, she worked as a nurse in addition to being a housewife. The latest time period in which Abigail has been shown is 1982, when she was still married to Henry but looked a generation older than he (
Janet Zarish
Janet Zarish (born April 21, 1954) is an American actress known for her work in television, movies and the theatre. She is Associate Arts Professor and Head of Acting of the Graduate Acting Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She received ...
); in 1984, she vanished without a trace despite Henry's best efforts to find her. Henry has acknowledged that the end of his relationship with Abigail caused him a lot of pain that prevents him from dating anyone for whom he has real feelings. In the episode "The Night in Question", Henry learns from Adam that Abigail killed herself after a car crash to prevent Adam from finding Henry.
Abigail appears in ten episodes.
*
Burn Gorman
Burn Hugh Winchester Gorman (born 1 September 1974) is an English actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Owen Harper in the BBC series ''Torchwood'' (2006–2008), Phillip Stryver in ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), Karl Tanner in the ...
as Lewis Farber/"Adam":
:A 2,000-year-old immortal who claims that he "has been here since the beginning" and that he has not found a death for himself.
Analysis of his blood revealed that he had contracted and recovered from several extinct diseases, including the
bubonic plague.
Adam was tortured as part of
the Nazis' research into his immortality, leaving him with a hatred of the Nazis and a sympathy for other Holocaust survivors, including Abe.
Adam first appeared as Henry's appointed psychiatrist and convinced a patient that he could pass on his immortality. Adam continued to try to find a lost dagger, one that not only caused Adam's first death but also was used to
kill Julius Caesar.
Adam appears in five episodes.
Episodes
Production
Origin
The concept for ''Forever'' came from a conversation between series creator Matt Miller and his five-year-old son about death. After the conversation, Miller began to imagine what life would be like if a person was immortal but everyone else, including that person's own children, were mortals.
He created a character who viewed immortality as a curse because of the pain of seeing family and friends die
and who would attempt to find a way to end his immortality. That concept informed Miller's decision to make his character a doctor-turned-medical examiner who used his occupation for research into his immortality
and Miller's decision to structure the series as a procedural. The details about the character's immortality and his ability and his desire to end it would serve as the series' main story arc.
Another series-long story arc explored how other people learn of Henry's immortality. The first storyline in the arc was the season's second story arc, Henry's determination to learn the identity of a second immortal who knows about it.
The second immortal character's morals would contrast his protagonist's morals, serving as an antagonist for the main character. As for the family element, Miller created a family with a 35-year-old immortal having a mortal son in his 70s. Miller stated in an interview with ''
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profile ...
'' writer Catherine Cabanela that he had never seen that type of family on television before, and he believed that it provide the show with an emotional element.
To demonstrate Henry's immortality, Miller decided that Henry would die and would feel the pain every time he died. Anything on Henry's body would disappear with his body during each death.
Miller felt that Henry's naked rebirth in water would be an interesting way to keep the show's protagonist alive during the series by completing the death and rebirth process; the nakedness would create several comedic moments within the series.
Miller intended to use Henry's death and rebirth process sporadically after the first two episodes
so that the series would focus on Henry's long life.
Casting
The first person cast was Judd Hirsch as Abe. When Miller and casting director Barbara Fiorentino developed a list of actors for the role, they felt that Hirsch would be the best actor to portray Abe. Hirsch was the first person asked about the role. When they sent the script to him,
Hirsch liked the series' premise,
its historical aspect, its intelligence,
and the idea that the audience would see life from Henry's perspective.
Two days after casting Hirsch, Ioan Gruffudd was cast as Dr. Henry Morgan.
Miller wanted the actors to read the script so that he could see whether the audience would believe that the man had been alive for over 200 years. The search for an actor to portray Henry was more difficult than Miller expected. Miller and Fiorentino unsuccessfully auditioned actors from New York City,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Australia, and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
for the role, but the role was uncast.
One day, Miller noticed Gruffudd in the carpool lane while they picked up their children from preschool. For Miller, Gruffudd's period work, such as in the series ''
Horatio Hornblower'', made him an obvious selection for the role.
Gruffudd liked the script and felt that he could portray Henry. The story, the science fiction element, and the believability also attracted Gruffudd to the role.
Alana de la Garza was cast as NYPD Detective Jo Martinez.
The show's procedural aspect,
the series' serialized nature, and the believability of the world interested de la Garza. She also liked the idea that, in contrast to de la Garza's characters on other procedurals, Jo had flaws.
Joel David Moore
Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen ...
,
Donnie Keshawarz, and
Barbara Eve Harris
Barbara Eve Harris (born Barbara Evadney Reid-Hibbert; March 8, 1959) is a Tobagonian-Canadian actress, known for her supporting performances on television. She is best known for her role as FBI Agent Felicia Lang on '' Prison Break''.
Life an ...
were the last three cast for the series. Harris was cast as NYPD Lieutenant Roark.
Originally the role of Lieutenant Roark was written as a male character, but Fiorentino cast Harris in the role.
Lorraine Toussaint
Lorraine Toussaint () is a Trinidadian-American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Toussaint began her career in theatre before ...
replaced Harris after the pilot,
and Toussaint's first appearance as Lieutenant Joanne Reece was in the episode "Look Before You Leap". To prepare for her role, Toussaint visited the morgue and viewed a few autopsies. The character of Lt. Reece was to play a larger role in the series, but her scenes were cut so that the episodes could fit time constraints. The DVDs include the deleted scenes.
Moore was cast as assistant medical examiner Lucas Wahl.
Both Miller and Fiorentino knew Moore from his previous work with both of them. Moore and Miller met when Moore guest starred on Miller's previous series ''
Chuck
Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer
* C ...
''.
Both Miller and Fiorentino, a personal friend of Moore's, discussed the pilot and the role with Moore. Moore liked the idea of Lucas providing comedic moments to the series. For Lucas' personality, Miller asked Moore to include several of his own personality traits when portraying Lucas.
Keshawarz as NYPD Detective Mike Hanson.
The casting department initially did not feel that Keshawarz could portray a NYPD detective, but his work on ''
Homeland
A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...
'' convinced them otherwise. The
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
-raised Keshawarz imitated a New York accent for ''Forever''. As for the character's name, the writers did not give Hanson a first name until the fifth episode "The Pugilist Break" when Jo addressed Hanson as "Mike" during a scene. Miller did not learn about the name until later when Keshawarz mentioned it to him in a conversation about the episode.
As for the recurring character of Henry's stalker Adam, Miller and Fiorentino cast
Burn Gorman
Burn Hugh Winchester Gorman (born 1 September 1974) is an English actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Owen Harper in the BBC series ''Torchwood'' (2006–2008), Phillip Stryver in ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), Karl Tanner in the ...
in the role.
as Adam. Gorman voiced the character
during the pilot and the second episode. Adam made his first physical appearance in the episode "Skinny Dipper", which aired on December 9, 2014.
Writing
Beginning with
the pilot
A pilot is a person who flies or navigates an aircraft.
Pilot or The Pilot may also refer to:
* Maritime pilot, a person who guides ships through hazardous waters
* Television pilot, a television episode used to sell a series to a television netw ...
, Miller structured each episode by telling two stories in the episode. The first was a traditional procedural plotline.
The second story was a flashback from Henry's past. The flashback either related to the episode's main present-day storyline, such as Henry's involvement in investigating the Jack the Ripper case,
or was a scene from Henry's backstory, such as his life in the
Lower East Side's tenements in the 1890s. Both the father-son relationship between Henry and Abe
and one of the two season-long story arcs, Henry's relationship with his wife Abigail,
were told through flashbacks.
When planning an episode, the writers started with the idea for the episode and determined the main story arc. They discussed which plot element could be associated with a previous incident from Henry's life and how the flashbacks connected the two stories. From there, they determined Abe's viewpoint about the case or his connection to the case. Then, they planned the story on whiteboard.
One plot device used in the pilot, Henry's pocket watch, proved to be difficult to use in subsequent episodes. In the beginning, the writers would have Henry's pocket watch fall out of his pocket so that it would not disappear with the rest of his body. It became more difficult for writers to develop believable scenarios in which Henry would lose his watch, so they did not write it into the plot as frequently in later episodes.
Effects
![2007_Ioan_Gruffudd](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/2007_Ioan_Gruffudd.jpg)
Miller and the filming crew had planned to film the rebirth scenes in the pilot in several bodies of water, but they could film it in only one location.
During the episode's production, Gruffudd and the crew filmed the rebirth scene against a green screen in a university swimming pool
due to the strength of the East River's current.
The crew later covered Gruffudd with water. To depict Henry's death in different years, the crew refilmed the scene with Gruffudd wearing various hair styles.
The producers then edited the scene by superimposing the film of Gruffudd's swim in the pool with film of the East River to give the illusion that the scene occurred in the river.
Title dispute
''Forever'' is also the title of a 2003 novel by writer
Pete Hamill
Pete Hamill (born William Peter Hamill; June 24, 1935August 5, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and editor. During his career as a New York City journalist, he was described as "the author of columns that sought to capture th ...
, with a similar premise: an Irishman is granted the gift of immortality by an African
sangoma, yet must remain in Manhattan or the gift is renounced.
On May 21, 2014,
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
received a letter from
RadicalMedia
RadicalMedia is an independent global media and communications company. Founded by Jon Kamen and Frank Scherma, the company develops, creates, and produces film, television, advertising, branded content, music videos, live events, design, digita ...
requesting that the name of the series be changed. RadicalMedia stated in the letter that Miller's character, setting, and title were very similar to Hamill's. The letter also stated that Sundance Studios had begun to develop a television series based on the novel. According to Warner Bros. studio representatives, Miller never read the novel when developing ''Forever''. Hamill did not proceed with a lawsuit
and died in 2020.
Reception
''Forever'' received mixed reviews from critics in the beginning.
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gave the show a rating of 57%, based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's consensus stated, "''Forever'' star Ioan Gruffudd is appealing, but his charm can't overcome the show's gimmicky, unrealized premise."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
gave the show a score of 54 out of 100, based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
''s Matt Roush felt that the series could become a hit similar to ''
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, a ...
'' and ''
Castle''.
Other critics felt that the series had issues.
Zap2it.com's Sarah Huggins liked the concept for the series and Gruffudd's performance, but she felt that the first two episodes were inconsistent "in tone and story". Both ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
''s Brian Lowery
and ''
Adweek
''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cover ...
''s Sam Thielman believed that ''Forever'' could not last as it faced
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
' ''
Person of Interest'' in the 10 p.m. timeslot and as ''Forever''s lead-in, ''
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', had dropped in the ratings during its first season. Lowery also believed that the lack of answers about Henry's immortality could not sustain the series.
''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
''s Tim Goodman concurred, feeling that the lack of answers about Henry's immortality could pose problems for viewers. Still others felt that the series was a derivative of other series. Brian Tallerico of
RogerEbert.com felt that the series was a derivative of
Sherlock Holmes. Although Hillary Busis of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' felt that ''Forever'' was a derivative of other procedurals, she stated that the show was "breezy and entertaining and reasonably clever, at least when its Sherlock Scanning isn't out of control" due to the performances of Gruffudd, de la Garza, and Hirsch and due to Miller's conceptualization of the series.
When Miller pitched the show to the various networks, network executives compared the series to ''
New Amsterdam''.
''New Amsterdam'', a short-lived drama which aired on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
in 2008, featured a 400-year-old male NYPD detective and a female partner. Miller stated that he had not heard about the series until he read some comments on an industry website. Television critics also took notice of the similarities between ''New Amsterdam'' and ''Forever''. ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
''s Robert Bianco thought that ''Forever'' took a "smarter, lighter approach to the subject" of immortality than ''New Amsterdam'' did. Lowery,
Roush,
and Busis
all noted the similarities between the two series in their reviews of ''Forever''.
In
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, ''Forever'' became an international hit. The premiere on April 28, 2015 attracted 7.08 million viewers. During the series' broadcast in France, ''Forever'' averaged an audience of about 5.7 million viewers, or 26.2% of the total French audience, making it France's most-watched series on Tuesday nights. After the broadcast of the final episode, French fans of ''Forever'' joined English-speaking fans in their social media campaign to save the series.
When ''Forever'' premiered on Spain's
Antena 3 on July 15, 2015, it drew 2,316,000 viewers. Over the course of the series, ''Forever'' averaged over 1.679 million viewers, making it a successful series in Spain. The series' success in spite of its cancellation in the United States prompted Rebeca Cortes of ''
El Norte de Castilla
''El Norte de Castilla'' ("The North of Castile") is a Spanish-language daily newspaper based in Valladolid, Spain. After ''Faro de Vigo'', founded in 1853, ''El Norte de Castilla'' is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the country, tracing i ...
'' to call ''Forever'' "the summer surprise".
The German paid-television channel Sat.1 Emotions began airing the first twelve episodes of ''Forever'' on February 3, 2015, but the series did not begin airing on Sat.1 on July 20, 2015. The ratings fluctuated throughout the run from the 2.02 million viewers which watched the pilot,
but ratings never dipped below 1.44 million viewers. During ''Forever''s run in Germany, the series averaged 1.82 million viewers and a 6.3 percent audience share; the series' market share was lower than Sat.1's average. Among viewers between the ages of 14 and 49, however, the show averaged 0.96 million viewers and a 9.4 percent market share, which was near the network's average.
In 2016, TF1 began rebroadcasting ''Forever'' on July 23. Germany's
kabel eins began its rebroadcast of ''Forever'' on September 23, 2016.
Awards and online polls
''Forever'' has been nominated for three awards and has improved ranking in two online polls. ''Forever'' received a nomination for "Best Primetime Television Program - Drama" category for the 30th annual
Imagen Awards
The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry." To be considered for an Imagen Award, a media piece or person ...
, but lost to ''
Law & Order: SVU''. In ''TV Guide''s Fall TV Popularity Contest, ''Forever'' placed second, receiving 76% of TVGuide.com readers' votes. It received a nomination in the "Favorite New TV Drama" category for the
2015 People's Choice Awards but lost to ''
The Flash
The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
''. About 70.4% of voters in the ''
E! Online
E! (an initialism for Entertainment Television) is an American basic cable channel which primarily focuses on pop culture, celebrity focused reality shows, and movies, owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUniver ...
''s "The Definitive Ranking of the Best and Worst New Shows—According to You" poll ranked the series the third best new show of the 2014–2015 television season. When the poll was first conducted in November 2014, ''E! Online'' users voted ''Forever'' as the 17th worst new show of the season; the series received 60% of votes stating that the voters loved the series.
Broadcast history
On May 8, 2014, ABC announced that the network had picked up ''Forever'' for the 2014-2015 television season. On July 15, 2014, the network announced that the series would have a two-day premiere, with the pilot airing on September 22 and the second episode debuting in the series' regular timeslot at 10 p.m. the next night. ''Forever'' premiered in the United States on ABC on September 22, 2014. Over 8.6 million viewers watched the episode live, and among adults 18–49, it had a 1.7 rating and a 5 share. The episode also retained a larger percentage of total viewers and of adults 18–49 from its lead-in than ''Castle''s premiere on March 9, 2009; ''Castle'' kept 47% of total viewers and 49% of adults 18–49 while ''Forever'' kept 67% of total viewers and 77% of adults 18–49. The second episode, airing the next night, was ABC's top-rated episode in that timeslot since September 21, 2010; it was viewed by 6.5 million people live and had a 1.7 rating and a 5 share. ''Forever''s second episode tied CBS' ''Person of Interest'' in adults 18–49 and beat the series in adults 18–34 and in women viewers. The episode also kept all of its adults 18–49 audience from the pilot's debut the night before and increased the adults 18–34 audience by 8%.
After the first two episodes, however, the series' live ratings dropped significantly to about 5 million live viewers. The Live+7-Day ratings, however, increased the audience by 3 million viewers, bringing the total audience to 8 million viewers weekly. That, and ''Forever''s performance in the 10 p.m. timeslot being better than ABC's performance in that timeslot during the 2013–2014 television season, convinced ABC to pick up additional episodes of the series. ''Forever'' received a full-season order on November 7, 2014.
''Forever'' airs a day before the U.S. on
CTV in Canada. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the show was acquired by
Sky1. It premiered on October 2, 2014. The series premiered on
Nine Network in Australia on February 11, 2015. In New Zealand,
TV One debuted ''Forever'' on February 16, 2015.
Video on demand
On July 1, 2016,
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
announced that ''Forever'' was available to stream on the free digital-only network
CW Seed
CW may stand for:
Science and technology
* centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt
* Cω, a programming language
* CW complex, a type of topological space
* Carrier wave, in radio communications
* CodeWarrior, an integrated development environ ...
.
Series cancellation
Before
the season finale aired, Miller and the writers proposed the storyline for season two to ABC and to Warner Bros. They pitched the idea of season two exploring the ramifications of Jo or another character, aside from Abe, learning about Henry's immortality, romance, and the pleasures associated with immortality.
They also planned to introduce several new characters to the series.
In an interview with ''Entertainment Weekly''s Natalie Abrams, Miller stated that ABC appeared to like the direction of the show's second season.
On May 7, however, ABC announced the series' cancellation. Gruffudd's wife
Alice Evans
Alice Evans (born 2 August 1968) is a former British-American actress.
Early life
Evans was born in Summit, New Jersey, to British parents, mathematician David Evans and teacher Janet Evans. She was raised in Bristol, and attended Henbury sch ...
told fans about the cancellation on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
; Gruffudd posted a letter on
Instagram detailing his reaction to the series' cancellation and thanking the show's fans for their support a few hours later.
In the meantime, Warner Bros. and Miller began to shop the series to other networks. On July 7, Miller posted a letter to fans on Twitter stating that, as of that date, Warner Bros. had been unable to find another studio to produce the series and that the studio was still shopping it around to the networks. During a Twitter question-and-answer session on September 17, 2015, Miller revealed the characters that he wanted to introduce (biological children viewed in flashbacks), and that the character who would learn of Henry's immortality in season 2 was to be Lucas.
Officially, the network cited that ''Forever''s live ratings was the main factor behind the series' cancellation. The pilot episode drew 8.26 million viewers live, but the finale drew 4.13 million live. On average, the series drew 4.93 million viewers live and a 1.12 adults 18–49 demographic weekly.
In term of the
Nielsen ratings' Live+7 Day ratings, ''Forever'' averaged 7.034 million viewers and drew a 1.7 adults 18–49 demographic.
About 3.23 million people, or about 68% of ''Forever''s audience, watched the series within seven days of the episodes original broadcast. ''Forever'' had the 19th-highest lift in total viewers for the 2014–2015 television season. In addition, ''Forever'' had the 7th-largest increase in adults 18–49 from DVR viewing during the season. It was among the top 20 programs that received the largest increase in adults 18–49 within the first three days of viewing, and it received the 14th-highest increase in adults 18–49 from Live+3-Day to Live+7-Day viewing.
Television critics believed that live ratings was not the only factor in ABC's cancellation of ''Forever''. The ''
Orange County Register''s Michael Hewitt
and ''Adweek''s Jason Lynch noted that several of ABC's other low-rated shows, in particular ABC's limited series ''
American Crime'', received renewals in spite of ratings that were similar to ''Forever''s. ''American Crime'' had an average audience of 4.98 million viewers live and a 1.16 adults 18–49 demographic weekly;
its Live+7 Day audience, however, averaged 6.697 million viewers and a 1.7 adults 18–49 demographic.
Verne Gay of ''
Newsday'', Nellie Andreeva of ''
Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wit ...
'', and Stephen Battaglio of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' pointed out that ABC renewed series produced by
ABC Studios
ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...
as a part of the network's decision to increase ownership of their series to compete with
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
and
Hulu. ''Forever'', produced by Warner Bros., was one of three cancellations for the network, the other two being ''
Resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
'' and ''
Cristela
''Cristela'' was an American multi-camera sitcom television series that aired from October 10, 2014, through March 6, 2015, on ABC. The series was created by stand-up comedian Cristela Alonzo, who also starred in and wrote for the series and ser ...
''.
Kate Stanhope of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' and Matt Roush of ''
TV Insider
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corporate ...
'' felt that ''Forever''s time slot was a factor for the low ratings. Stanhope mentioned that ''Forever'' was airing opposite
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
's ''
Chicago Fire'' and CBS' ''Person of Interest'', both established series on their respective networks while Roush believed that ''Forever'' did not have a strong lead-in in. John Sica, a reporter for ''The Rockaway Times'' who had worked on the series, cited a lack of promotion and an inconsistent scheduling of episodes during ''Forever''s run as factors that led to the series cancellation.
Fan reaction
Before the series' cancellation, ''Forever'' placed fourth in ''USA Today''s 18th annual "Save Our Shows" poll. When ABC announced the cancellation of ''Forever'', fans were outraged, and some left angry messages on ABC's
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
page. Using the hashtag #SaveForever, others began a Internet activism, social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter to save the series. An online petition on Change.org generated over 6,500 signatures within two days of being created, and it generated over 12,600 signatures in three days. By May 27, it had generated nearly 27,000 signatures. Some have had requested that Netflix or another network take over the production of the series. By November 5, 2015, the petition generated 107,150 signatures.
The cancellation generated a discussion on social media. When TVLine posted a story about the cancellation, it generated 2,175 comments, making it the third most talked-about story in the site's five-year history. About 43.70% of ''Entertainment Weekly'' online readers voted it as the most-missed cancellation in ''Entertainment Weekly''s online poll.
A fan-made, non-profit, unofficial graphic novel, titled "Forever & Ever!", debuted on Facebook on January 5, 2016. According to one of the comic series' co-creators, the novel expands the fictional universe created by Miller by introducing new material and new characters.
Ratings
In Australia, the first episode was watched by 619,000 viewers, making it the fourteenth most-watched broadcast that night.
The second one was viewed by 522,000 viewers, making it the twentieth most-watched.
In Canada, the first and second episodes received 2.32 and 1.57 million viewers, respectively. In the United Kingdom, the premiere garnered 847,000 viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast on the network that week. In New Zealand, it was the third most-watched broadcast in prime time that night, with 243,650 viewers.
Home video releases
Miller revealed that Warner Bros. would release DVDs for the series during a Twitter question-and-answer session on September 17, 2015. On November 16, 2015, Warner Home Entertainment of Canada announced that DVDs for the series would be released on January 19, 2016. That day, Warner Bros. announced it would be made available in the United States through the company's Warner Archive Collection as a manufacture-on-demand title.
The DVD contained all 22 episodes of the series on five discs, along with deleted scenes from many of the episodes. The Region 4 DVD was released on February 3, 2016.
Streaming
The series is available to stream on The CW's streaming service, The CW.
See also
* New Amsterdam (2008 TV series), ''New Amsterdam'' (2008 TV series)—a crime drama also set in New York City with a similar premise
* Harrow (TV series), ''Harrow'' (2018) - another series starring Ioan Gruffudd as a pathologist.
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title, 3487382, Forever
2014 American television series debuts
2015 American television series endings
2010s American crime drama television series
2010s American medical television series
2010s American mystery television series
2010s American science fiction television series
American Broadcasting Company original programming
American fantasy television series
English-language television shows
Fiction about immortality
Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department
Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios
Television shows set in New York City
Television shows filmed in New York (state)