By: Eric Corse

Have you ever just gotten bored on a lazy Saturday evening perusing Netflix for something new and refreshing to watch? Well, look no further than CBS’s thrilling crime drama, Limitless, starring Jake McDorman and Jennifer Carpenter. It serves as a continuation of the movie of the same name that starred Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.   I highly recommend seeing the film before watching the show, as there are multiple references to it seen throughout the show. And when I mean references, I mean multiple appearances of Bradley Cooper reprising his role as Edward Mora, the main protagonist of the film. Also, who doesn’t like Bradley Cooper?

The series follows a struggling musician named Brian Finch (Jake McDorman) who’s recruited to work with the FBI after it’s discovered that he has an immunity that allows him to use the experimental drug, NZT, which drastically enhances mental ability, but secretly Finch works as a double agent for Senator Edward Mora, who keeps him immune with a booster shot. Rebecca Harris (Jennifer Carpenter), who serves as Finch’s FBI handler, and Brian Finch have hilarious chemistry and are interesting foils to one another. McDorman is solid as an everyman-turned-Superman and Carpenter blows her role out of the water, much like she did with her character Debra Morgan in the hit show Dexter.

While the show takes a more comedic approach than the base material, it is still a well-acted and well-written show. The writing starts out as simplistic, and is just a stereotypical crime drama in the vein of CSI. However as the show progresses, there are obvious liberties the writers have taken with the genre. It becomes an interesting mix of comedy and seriousness. At one point, Finch is cracking jokes about music or his partner Harris, and at another he is going through life threatening NZT withdrawal. This interesting writing style is one of the reasons that drew me into the world of Limitless.

The only disappointing thing about Limitless is its length. It only lasts for one season that is around 20 episodes long. Recent news about the show has suggested that there is not going to be a second season either. Hopefully the reports are false, and we will be soon enjoying another season of Limitless very soon. I would give Limitless a 4.5/5 because of its stellar actors and excellent writing. I docked a few points because of the limited length of the show.