During MIPCOM, Fox released the trailer for the new show ‘Touch’. MIPCOM, which was held October 3-6 in Cannes, France, is a launch pad for many global shows. Many American TV companies go to MIPCOM to sell their shows to overseas markets. Many stars attended this event, including ‘Touch’ star Kiefer Sutherland. Along with series creator Tim Kring and Fox Entertainment Group president Kevin Reilly, Sutherland discussed the show and revealed more details about the mid-season Fox sci-fi drama.
As reported by ‘Deadline’ and ‘The Hollywood Reporter’, Sutherland admitted that he did not plan on returning to television so soon. A few films have piqued his interested, but by page thirty, he could not put the script for ‘Touch’ down. Considering how selective Sutherland is rumored to be, this suggests the pilot is very strong. From the mind that brought us ‘Heroes’, ‘Touch’ is about how a father needs to reconnect with his autistic son. Sutherland’s character, Martin Bohn, has a son Jake who doesn’t speak, but he can see the pattern that connects us all. Jake can see the past, the present, and the future, and Martin’s destiny is to follow the roadmap Jake gives him. All Martin needs to do is learn how to communicate with his son.
Kring promises to push the intellectual, scientific, and spiritual themes presented in the pilot and not to underestimate the audience. ‘Touch’ asks, “Is fate a formula?” Kring states that the show will not avoid the math behind the concepts in the show, including the golden ratio, the Fibonacci sequence, and the Mandelbrot numbers often found in nature.
From the trailer, we can see the possibility of what the show could be—a father/son bonding journey based on scientific quantum principles. Sutherland has said that the role of Martin is the opposite of his one on 24, emotional, and you can see how human Martin is in the promo.
Could ‘Touch’ be a solid hour of television for Fox? Possibly. Tim Kring brought us one of the finest seasons of television ever, the first season of ‘Heroes’. However, Kring veered away from his initial premise of having different characters each season, and ‘Heroes’ floundered. If Kring can stay true to his premise, if the stories aren’t dumbed down for the audience, if people can believe Sutherland as a father, and if the kid isn’t annoying, then Fox could have another hit on its hands.
During MIPCOM, Fox announced th show will debut in the spring, but the network did not give a premiere date or state the show’s timeslot.
