Network: NBC
Episodes: 13 (hour)
Seasons: One
TV show dates: October 25, 2014 — February 13, 2015
Series status: Cancelled
Performers include: Matt Ryan, Harold Perrineau, Charles Halford, and Angelica Celaya.
TV show description:
This supernatural TV show is based on the Hellblazer comic book series published by DC Comics (under their Vertigo imprint).
It revolves around John Constantine (Matt Ryan), a seasoned demon hunter and master of the occult. He is armed with a ferocious knowledge of the dark arts — and a wickedly naughty wit.
Constantine fights the good fight — or at least he did. With his soul already damned to hell, he’s decided to abandon his campaign against evil until a series of events thrusts him back into the fray. He’ll do whatever it takes to protect the innocent.
He travels the country, finding supernatural terrors that threaten our world and send them back where they belong. Perhaps there’s hope for him and his soul after all.
Other characters include: Manny (Harold Perrineau), an angel assigned to follow Constantine and who communicates with him by stepping into other people’s bodies. Constantine’s longest friend and companion, Chas Chandler (Charles Halford) who has powerful (possibly supernatural) survival skills. Zed (Angelica Celaya) is an artist with an intuitive nature and heightened senses that keep her deeply connected to the world around her.
Episode #13 — Waiting for the Man
Detective Jim Corrigan beckons John and Zed back down to New Orleans to help him investigate the murder of a fellow detective that seems to correspond with the abductions of three young girls, and a rare blood moon. On a hunch, they dig up the detective’s body and discover distinct markings on his chest that John identifies as the Devil’s Branding Irons. This indicates the work of a Satanist, who no doubt abducted the children as a sacrifice. But it doesn’t stop there. The detective’s corpse suddenly becomes possessed by the soul of John’s deceased friend Gary Lester. Gary wastes no time in relaying an urgent warning to John: there’s a bounty on his head, and he better watch out.
Corrigan receives word of another child abduction, a girl named Vesta, and he invites John and Zed to help question the mother. Zed tries to trigger visions in Vesta’s room, but nothing occurs, that is, until she sees Manny in the kitchen. He calms any concern she expresses, reminding Zed of her unique gift that even angels envy.
To expedite the process, John forces a connection between him and Vesta’s spirit using electric shock, her used toothbrush and some errant hair. His vision leads them to the point of abduction – a creepy, abandoned carnival. But instead of finding another clue, he comes face-to-face with a vodou zombie controlled by none other than a bounty-seeking Papa Midnite. The zombie gets the upper hand and is seconds away from ending John’s life when Corrigan saves the day with a swift bullet to its head.
At long last, Zed sees a vision – and the dying man in it provides her with an address. Once there, they find the body of the man from her vision crucified in the attic, branded just like the detective. John senses something far worse and instructs Corrigan and Zed to leave as a precautionary measure. His instincts prove correct and Papa Midnite arrives with his sharpshooting rifle, the Ace of Winchesters. He shoots John in the chest and reveals that John’s soul will free his sister’s; this is nothing personal. A second bullet ends the job… except Midnite notices that the slumped over body isn’t John at all – it’s the dead man from the attic. Before Midnite can react, the real John slugs him to the ground and takes the rifle. Turns out John reanimated the corpse and used a glamour spell to trick Midnite. He leaves his unconscious nemesis for the police to handle.
With Midnite out of the way, John reconnects with Zed and Corrigan and they fill him in on another lead they found: six years ago, a Satanist killed his wife, claiming she wasn’t the pure virgin he deserved, and escaped punishment due to “temporary insanity.” John arrives at the address first and discovers the three young girls dressed in wedding gowns… and long since dead. Corrigan and Zed join him later and the trio locates a barely breathing Vesta in the clutches of the Satanist – who bolts on sight, only to meet an angry Zed armed with a shovel. The Satanist’s comeuppance arrives in the form of vigilante justice, as John and Corrigan make sure he won’t find his way to a courtroom. Vesta, meanwhile, makes a full recovery.
Later, Corrigan and Zed share a drink at a local pub. Throughout their adventure, Zed kept secret a recurring vision of a dead (and glowing green) Corrigan, but here, in private, she shares her fear with him – her visions always come true. He takes the news in stride and states that if death is imminent, then he should seize the moment – and he kisses her. And John sees it all…
John walks out by himself, and he ends up under an overpass when Manny appears. They argue about Zed – is John jealous? – and also about the Rising Darkness. Manny urges him to stay the course, together they can win this war, and John agrees. He’s more worried about what comes after, when he sends every last demon to Hell. What will he do then?
But elsewhere, as the police escort Papa Midnite to jail, time stops, and Midnite’s cuffs fall to the ground. He looks around – who’s the source of this magic? Manny appears and tells him that the contract on John Constantine is canceled. Midnite asks if Manny works for La Brujería and Manny responds:
“No. The Brujería work for me.”
And with that, the source of the Rising Darkness flaps away into the night, leaving Papa Midnite both shaken and free to once again disappear. (Courtesy NBC.)
First aired: February 13, 2015.
What do you think? Do you like the Constantine TV show? Do you think it should have been cancelled or renewed for a second season?
Always DVR the show…and one of the few I genuinely look forwrad to. But an NBC cancellation might actually be a godsend…if rumors that it could move to SyFy are true. It would be free of the network shackles of having to keep John “likeable”, keeping the smoking down to an occasuonal “cameo”, etc….and would open the door to the darker material that they can do on cable. Either way, I really want to see the show continue. Especially with the potential for characters like Spectre and Dr Fate that are being dangled. So much potential…and with AMC’s Constantine knock-off… Read more »
I love this show, have watched it since episode one. I DVR it, since the Husband doesn’t care for it. I hope NBC leaves it alone and lets it develop to it’s full potential. Matt Ryan is a wonderful actor and just owns this part.
For pity’s sake, no, I don’t want Constantine to be canceled, thanks for asking. Is this actually a forum in which saying so will make any difference? 🙁
For the rest of you who feel the same, write a letter or two: http://saveconstantine.com/
Really entertaining, I make sure not to miss an episode and I hope it continues for a long time!
Don’t cancel!!!!
Love this different show. Don’t cancel it!!!
One of NBC’s few good shows! Hope they don’t cancel.
I was rather hesitant to give this show a try at first, but after seeing some of the reviews and being reassured by a friend, I gave it a go and was not disappointed in the least. I admit I am not a comic geek, in fact I tend to wait for comic characters to work their way onto film or TV, so I cannot give a proper review of the character, but in my opinion, Matt Ryan has done a wonderful job portraying Constantine. His performance captivated me right at the beginning of the Pilot and has since kept… Read more »
Love the show. Don’t cancell!!
The show provides believable characters who continue to develop and a slew of interesting plot twists. The special effects do not tend to be overdone and most of the ordinary jump scare / slasher horror cliches are eschewed in favor of a more Hitchcock-like psychological approach. Sadly, NBC stuck the show at a terrible time slot on a terrible night so it’s tough to say whether it’s been deliberately sabotaged by the network. It definitely has the potential to rival True Blood or any of the other horror / drama shows, but the question is whether the network will give… Read more »
love the show. why was it moved to 20.00 ?
The cast is super.
Please, Do Not Cancel This Amazing and Growing and Evolving Television Show. It has So Much Room To Grow. It Would Be a Slap In The Face To The Fans That Are Spreading The Word, and Doing Everything We Can.
I really like this show , I really hope they don’t cancel it.
I think this show is great…and I think given time it will become a popular show!
The show should never be cancelled it is awesome. The supernatural show will be a hit. I like it as much as I liked Charmed!