Do you ever truly know the one you’re with? Well-known adage. Timeworn plot point that threatens cliché. Still, each of us feels those nervous flickers now and then (oh, yes you do), and thus, duplicity remains irresistible to storytellers, moviegoers and TV watchers alike. And probably will till the end of time.
After serving us a tasty, comic dose of that via its current dramedy Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, Bravo tries its hand at spine-tingling drama with the new original series Imposters. Produced and penned by GGTD’s Paul Adelstein and Mozart in the Jungle’s Adam Brooks, the pulse-pounder stars The Last Ship’s Inbar Lavi as con artist Maddie, who uses her charm, beauty and talent for disguise (plus, the guidance of a mysterious boss called “The Doctor”) to seduce a succession of wealthy lovers and then rob them blind. As Maddie discovers she may not be completely immune to love, a posse of former targets band together to bring her down.
“Characters are always revealing themselves in ways that are unexpected,” Brooks said of the show’s backbone while promoting Imposters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “It’s a show about reinvention. It’s that feeling of you drive by an airport and think, ‘If I just got on a plane and went somewhere, I could be anybody!’ A lot of these characters are reinventing themselves — and the way they reinvent themselves can sometimes make you sympathetic to them in a way they weren’t before — or unsympathetic. That’s constantly shifting, your relationship to who they are.”
Imposters opens as new groom Ezra (Brit import Rob Heaps) discovers that his blushing bride “Ava” — yes, that would be Maddie — has made off with his cash and enough intel about his family to make things, well, interesting. But he’s not about to take that sitting down. As Maddie readies her next con with partners Max (Brian Benben, Private Practice) and Sally (Katherine LaNasa, Satisfaction), Ezra teams up with two more of Maddie’s marks, Richard (Parker Young, Arrow) and Jules (Marianne Rendón), to find her.
Asked about tackling a multitude of personas and voices, Lavi shared, “I grew up in Israel. My dad is Polish. My mom is Moroccan, and I grew up around all kinds of different languages, and I love playing with it. I got really lucky to try and maneuver different ones throughout the season, and it’s just been such a thrill. So much fun.”
Uma Thurman arrives in Episode 3 for a recurring story arc as “lethal, articulate and mysterious” fixer Lenny Cohen, who could prove as problematic to Maddie as her former loves. Ditto for prospective paramour Patrick (Stephen Bishop, Being Mary Jane), who just might find a way to steal Maddie’s heart right back.
Sound a lot like ABC’s The Catch? Fans of that ShondaLand offering should enjoy this lusty cat-and-mouse game, too.
“Everyone on this show gets hurt,” said Lavi of the show’s underlying message. “Everyone is deceived. Everyone is a little bit conniving, and I hope that people can take some kind of message that that’s OK. It happens. Get back out there. There’s always hope!”
Imposters airs Tuesdays at 10/9c beginning Feb. 7 on Bravo
