‘No Tomorrow’ Premiere React: What Works, What Still Needs Work
TV fans will always love a good will-they-or-they-won’t they couple, but it’s also refreshing when you get a couple that does it right away. That’s Evie (Tori Anderson) and Xavier (Galavant‘s Joshua Sasse) in the CW’s latest dramedy, No Tomorrow. She’s beautiful and levelheaded; he’s handsome and convinced that an asteroid will destroy Earth in nine months. But by the end of the premiere, they’re a couple. She doesn’t believe the end is nigh, but she does know that being with him and checking things off her “apocalyst” makes her feel more alive.
Related: No Tomorrow Review: Rom-Comming the Apocalypse
What Works: Honestly, it’s good timing for what may sound like an insane premise but is handled pretty deftly. Many people work long hours these days, trying to hold on to their jobs. It’s easy to get in that cycle where you just go to work and come home. Sure, you go on vacation twice a year, but for the other 50 weeks, you can’t muster the energy to try something new. Compound that with the world’s troubles reminding you that life is short and unpredictable, and you have viewers who may well like the idea of someone coming along to motivate them to get out more and do the things they’ve always wanted to do now.
And it’s not (all) big-ticket items that require a plane ticket; it’s attainable goals like finally using a pogo stick, riding a dune buggy, singing in public, and seeing for yourself what happens when you put aluminum foil in the microwave. Watching the show will be like a weekly nudge from that friend who’s always telling you to live your life.
It helps, of course, that Anderson and Sasse have great chemistry, and that the shows’ writers seem to want you to like everyone — even Evie’s ex-boyfriend, Timothy (Jesse Rath), who may be safe, reliable, and boring but did genuinely love her for who she is, and Evie’s horrible boss (Amy Pietz), who, in a surprise twist, wants Evie to help her win the heart of her assistant, conspiracy theorist Hank (Jonathan Langdon).
What Needs Work: The core relationship between Evie and Xavier plays so well, the challenge will be for the scenes with her colleagues and family to rise to that level. Also, the premiere ends with Xavier’s nonviolent cousin escaping from prison. Of course you need to create different kinds of conflict between order-loving Evie and free-spirit Xavier to keep things interesting, but let’s not employ too many dealbreakers, like the risk of jail time.
Burning Questions: Will Joshua Sasse will be shirtless in every episode? It looks that way from the “coming this season” promo. How soon will he sing? Can the show’s producers, some of whom are from Jane the Virgin, keep this hour as charming, yet grounded, week after week?
No Tomorrow airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on the CW.
