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Network: CBS

Premiere: Thursday, October 9, 10pm

Cast: Rufus Sewell and Marley Shelton

Premise: Dr. Jacob Hood (Sewell) is a special science advisor to the government who helps to investigate science-related cases.  In other words, it's CSI crossed with The X-Files.

Based on a British series of the same name, Eleventh Hour is a slightly different take on the crime procedural drama CBS is used to.  Though one of the producers is Jerry Bruckheimer, the showrunners come from the Showtime drama Sleeper Cell, a far more serialized show.

The trick for CBS is to see how this blending of serialized talent and procedural plot works.  On the one hand, it could elevate a generic genre and add some much needed impact to a stale formula.  However, it could also be a miss, satisfying neither demographic – it could be too procedural for Sleeper Cell fans and too non-formulaic for CSI fans.

The X-Files aspect comes from the fact that there are only the two cast members, Sewell as the doctor and Shelton as his handler.  Together they investigate science-related crimes, though the showrunners are careful to point out it's not science fiction.  Plenty of research is done, and the show will strive to be as scientifically accurate as possible.

In the last decade, we've seen cloned sheep, face transplants, stem cells and countless other scientific breakthroughs that would be called witchcraft even 100 years ago.  Eleventh Hour will provide a glimpse into the ever-changing word of what science is capable of.

-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of CBS)