NBC premiered its new science fiction/fantasy show Believe on Monday March 10th, and the action-packed pilot kept the audience guessing the whole time.

Bo (Johnny Sequoyah) is a special girl. She possesses extraordinary skills that if placed in the wrong hands, could be destructive and totally demoralizing. There is a group that knows of Bo’s powers and is hoping to exploit her powers for evil. On the other side, a group led by Winter (Delroy Lindo) and Channing (Jamie Chung) seems to have Bo’s best interest in mind, and want to use her gifts to help others.

The pacing of the premiere episode keeps the audience on their toes trying to keep track of what is going on and what the possible motives could be. The show opens with two fast-paced scenes including a car crash and a prison break. There is no clue given at first at how these two scenes are connected or how a death-row prisoner, Tate (Jake McLaughlin), convicted of murder is involved with the protection of Bo.

The premiere is part of a wave of new shows appealing to supernatural and science fiction viewers. What Believe does well is that it dedicates enough time to character development, instead of just focusing on plot. From this episode we find out what connects Winter and Skouras (Kyle MacLachlan), the leader of the enemy group. It isn’t until the end of the episode that we find out why Winter chose Tate to protect Bo, a crucial detail that will most certainly drive the show from this point forward.

Believe delivers a good balance of drama and action that keeps the audience thirsting for more. Sequoyah is charming and cute as this remarkable young girl who has compassion for almost everyone, even total strangers. Audiences will certainly grow more attached to her with every ensuing episode.

Believe airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on NBC.

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