Wisdom of the Crowd

This show may be to one's liking - or may be not, it's a matter of personal preference. I liked the show, that's why I persevered watching it, week by week - all 13 eps. Few weeks ago it became known that the series are being cancelled after the first season - ratings were not that great, but it was not the deciding factor (as everybody knows by now, CBS made the call right after sexual harassment allegations were made against the star of the show, Jeremy Piven). What I want to communicate in this review (one may call it a rant) - if you have not started watching the series - don't bother. There was no conclusion, no closing of any kind - total disrespect for viewers (I understand that 7.4 mln people were watching it, on average, in US only). The series revolves about the murder of Mia, a multi-billionaire's daughter - who's focus in life becomes to find her killer. His team is edging closer to get the answer, bit by bit - one may expect this will come to the fruition by the end of the season. Alas, we come away empty handed. The last episode (S01E13) is just another "monster of the week" story, with main theme (Mia's killer) almost completely ignored and left open-ended. It is such a disappointment, you feel cheated and disrespected. It's hard, in this situation, to rate the series objectively - but I know that I want to rate CBS 0/10 - this is not the first time they've done it, actually.

A viewer wrote that this series is another concept of 'Person of Interest' which has been aired since 2011 with 5 seasons to date. I have never seen this so I cannot judge. It is only fair to review this new series on its own merits.

Having seen the pilot episode, I am pleased what it is about and moves along at a good pace, keeping one's interest. We have to wait how the story develops but for the time being I rate it 7 to start off with.

Update after 4 episodes: The story wanders and does not stay focused. Rating reduced to 6.

Latest. Now seen 7 episodes and am giving up! It's become an endless bore. Rating reduced to 5 as I wave goodbye.

Tech entrepreneur Jeffrey Tanner (Jeremy Piven) forgoes his wealth and his company Allsourcer to offer a $100M reward to find his daughter's real killer. Carlos Ochoa was convicted for her murder a year earlier. Using his crowd sourcing program Sophie, he aims to find new evidence with his team of programmers led by Sara Morton. He partners with police detective Cavanaugh who was dismissed from her case. His ex-wife Alex Hale is a politician who wants him to stop digging up their daughter's closed case.

This is a workable concept. It's another show where a wealthy billionaire Batman tries to save the world. He has a box where answers magically appear and a personal murder mystery that he's desperate to solve. The magic box is too magical. The general idea of crowd sourcing is easy to understand but the show doesn't explain how the program finds the right people with the right answers. The show starts off fine at first but it devolves into Deus ex machina.

The other problem is trying to force a procedural out of the concept. He's trying to find his daughter's killer. It's a simple idea and the show should run with that at top speed. All these other cases keep detouring the show. The first season should be a tightly written whodunit that wraps up with a big climatic cliffhanger. It should be an intense mystery thriller but this is so much less. The show should go the procedural route only after his daughter's killing is solved. It looks like the show is ending after a 13 episode run. The mediocre ratings don't help but Piven's sexual harassment allegations in this environment is probably the final nail in the coffin.

Why cancel the show because of the actor who can be replaced? Just have some respect for the viewers all over the world and finish the story

This show displays a very dangerous concept. Very negative unintended consequences will happen. At least the writers acknowledge this at about 23:32 when a driver is attacked by a crowd based on very limited and incomplete information. If the concept for this show happens in real many innocent people will be attacked and seriously injured. Crowd "wisdom" is very easily turned into Mob Mentality where a few people with an agenda whips people into an emotional frenzy and sways them to commit acts they would never even consider as individuals. That's how, historically, there were so many lynchings in the past. Another potential issue is if the courts will even allow "evidence" gathered as shown in this show. Would that actually preclude any legitimate evidence being gathered and presented. This concept, if ever enacted in real life, could do much more harm than good in apprehending and prosecuting criminals. Very, very dangerous concept.