The 4400 are back with The CW‘s reboot of the USA Network sci-fi drama, which once again finds thousands of missing persons deposited in the future.
Among the “overlooked, undervalued, or otherwise marginalized” abductees in Monday’s series premiere are: Shanice (Grand Army‘s Brittany Adebumola), a lawyer who leaves behind her husband and baby in 2005; Claudette (Chicago P.D. guest star Jaye Ladymore), a civil rights activist from Mississippi; WWI doctor Andre (TL Thompson), fresh from the Harlem Renaissance; Reverend Isaiah (Call Your Mother guest star Derrick A. King), who comes from a televangelist family in 1990s Chicago; seemingly shallow 2015 reality star LaDonna (Khailah Johnson); 1970s flower child Mildred (Autumn Best); and the mysterious teen Hayden (American Housewife‘s AMARR), who doesn’t speak a word.
When the 4400 — some of whom recall seeing a green light before being taken — are deposited in Detroit, DHS calls in tough parole officer Keisha (Ireon Roach) and kind-hearted social worker Jharrel (Arrow‘s Joseph David-Jones) to conduct the interviews and get answers. (Seems weird that they wouldn’t give that task to higher level authorities, but OK.) In the meantime, the returnees are being held at various locations with no explanation or cause, which Shanice argues is a violation of their rights. It’s not until Shanice brings up Ruth Bader Ginsburg that she realizes that they’re all referencing different points in history and finally asks what year it is. The police guard responds that it’s 2021, much to everyone’s shock.
During a bathroom break, Mildred seemingly moves the security camera and unlocks a door to the outside world with just her mind. At Mildred’s urging, Shanice escapes to go find her family, but when she arrives at their old home, a “Karen” is living there and calls the cops on Shanice. Jharrel arrives before Keisha and sees Shanice making a run for it, so he covers for her, allowing her to find shelter at her former nanny’s house. In the morning, Jharrel greets Shanice and makes her a deal: He’ll take her to see her family, but she has to return to the hotel with him afterward. She agrees to his conditions.
Shanice gets quite the surprise when she finally sees her husband and child: Their daughter is now a teenager, while Logan (Power Book II: Ghost‘s Cory Jeacoma) is remarried and thinks Shanice abandoned them. When Shanice protests that she didn’t leave, Logan tells her he found her note. Keisha and the cops then arrive and take Shanice away in handcuffs. Back at the hotel, Shanice tearfully confesses to Andre that she suffered from postpartum depression, hence the note she wrote, but she ultimately got help and fought for her baby.
As for the other returnees, Claudette notices that her bleeding leg wound has miraculously healed. She corners LaDonna in the bathroom and basically blackmails her into cutting her with her press-on nails. LaDonna only has a second to be grossed out before the cut completely disappears. After bringing Andre into the loop, the trio agree that it would be better if no one else knew about Claudette’s special ability.
Meanwhile, tensions are rising at the hotel, with the returnees feeling like prisoners and chanting, “Let us out!” When one of the officers takes out his baton, Isaiah steps in and brokers peace. Andre praises Isaiah, but Claudette scoffs that men like him, who use pretty words to make people believe them, are dangerous, and she would know because she’s married to one of them. The group find a moment of fun when Claudette notices a piano and breaks out into a rousing song as the others start to dance. But apparently, even that is against the rules and the officer orders her to stop. When he does, Claudette hits her elbow against the piano, brushing off Isaiah’s concern. But he sees a spot of blood on one of keys after she leaves.
Claudette asks Shanice where she went, and the latter confirms that it really is 2021. Shanice has also come to realize something: If they sent the cavalry after her and are holding them all, there must be something special about them. And that means they’re not powerless. Claudette smiles and says she’s starting to like 2021.
Elsewhere, Keisha finds Jharrel at a bar and demands that he explain why he helped Shanice. Jharrel expresses his concerns about how the government is handling the situation. “Even good people justify very bad things in the name of doing their jobs,” he says, then reveals that he thought he saw a green light when his brother Manny vanished, but there’s no sign of him at any of the holding facilities. Keisha promises to make things right with DHS, by way of her connections (aka her girlfriend, who says they’re bringing in NASA!).
As the episode ends, Keisha is approached by Hayden, who finally speaks. “Tell Jharrel that Manny’s all right. And that he’s sorry for everything,” he says.
What did you think of the updated 4400? Grade it below, then hit the comments!
I like it
It was good , I’ll keep watching. But it was a little heavy-handed with the lead security guard, so heavy-handed I’m thinking he’s actually going to be a sacrificial Red Shirt who will be killed in a future episode by one of the returnees – maybe accidentally, maybe on purpose – as one of the returnees discovers or tries out a new power. I won’t miss him.
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Regarding Mildred, who instantly recognized the security cameras and knew she had to turn them away: were security cameras that common in the 70’s, let’s say Brady Bunch era (since she said “far out”)?
Re: Mildred. You did see the kid who wasn’t talking–stop her when she was about to use her powers right? Powers! Why are you harping on her recognizing a security camera? To answer your question, yes–security cameras were common in the 70s
Is asking one question now “harping”?
Fair enough. I answered your one question about security cameras. Better? 🍻
Security cameras existed in the 70ss but weren’t common til the 90s. While you’re pretending to be an expert, can you answer my question about the transman (Dr Andre)? Is he meant to be a trans character in the show or have they just cast a trans actor to play a cisman?
Way to racist anti white all 4400 minorities only white s guard so racist its not funny
Who knows,maybe she was a bank robber or a protester who raided animal labs?lol
Really enjoyed it… Logan was smooth as hell in 2005…i liked when claudette said that she may like 2021…the preacher… Can’t get a read on him yet… Enjoyed the combo of the P.O and the Social worker… Interested for more episodes
Hmmmm, we’ll see 🤔
That’s how I feel. Pilots are hard. I can think of a lot of shows that didn’t have a great pilot but that started, or became, really good after that. There aren’t any major red flags here that makes me think the show is a mess without solid bones to build on.
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There are, really only two criticisms I had: 1) it looked cheap. Like, really cheap. I know it’s the CW, but we’ve seen the CW do better. To launch a concept like this, they should have spent a bit more. And 2) I think I was much more interested in every character other than Shanice. If she’s a very prominent lead character for the show, that might be an issue.
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I’ve never seen the original. Was always interested, though. Think I missed the first season, and it’s not like you could catch up back then. Didn’t seem like a show you could start with season 2 of, either.
The OG 4400 pilot episode was more dynamic then this. By the end of the episode, you really felt the full power potential and danger of the returnee’s abilities. This new pilot was a lot of the the returnees wandering around the hotel. If you have Netflix, you should go watch the OG pilot as a comparison.
I really liked the original 4400 and felt like a reboot should have focused more on the returnee’s backstories as opposed to their new powers. I was hoping this show would follow suit but it feels too heavy handed and ruins the original by trying to be too “woke.” I like the idea of black returnees returning to a new era and comparing what has changed and what hasn’t. The original only had one main character that held that idea, but did not handle it very well. This new version should have kept the diversity of the original and added more minority characters rather than going the woke route and making everyone black, with the exception of Mildred who I’m sure we’ll find out is half black or something. I’m willing to give it a few more weeks because I enjoyed the original but I’m worried that the heavy-handedness will only get worse.
Ann, you’re 100% right. One of the best aspects of the original was having a returnee of the week, and then learning how their individual powers fell into the plan as a whole. There is zero character/story development in this remake. And c’mon…how much of a cartoon character is that one guard?? LOL…and the woman who lived in the (very unlikable) lead character’s house? “There’s someone banging on my door. She’s black.” Keep preaching, baby…quickest way to get me to change the channel.
Sorry…this is a fail right out the gate.
How much story development did you expect in a pilot?… That one guard was over the top.. But the P.O kiesha was also pretty hostile, but I guess that doesn’t square up with this victimhood you cloaking yourself in… That white lady who called the cops ain’t do nothing wrong.. And you’d be hard-pressed to find many folks upset at her reaction.. Let some woman come bang on my door early in the a.m talking bout let me in… I live here.. Calling other ppl’s names… I’m calling the cops too.. Hell the old black lady who she went to next pumped her shotgun when she ran up on her door screaming.. But her exercising her 2nd amendment rights musta flew right over yall’s heads
Watch the original pilot on Netflix and you’ll see what I mean by character and story development. You get a clear picture of who everyone is pretty early on. No cartoon characters, either.
“The diversity of the og ”
I recently rewatched the og and it had one black main character and everyone else was white.
It was stated in the show that the people taken are from all over the world I think I saw a character wearing a hijab there too. I dont think all of the 4400 are black the main ones we are following for now are.
I think whilst it may seem heavy handed and woke the past two years and basically all of the news we have seen has shown us we live is a heavyhanded world were all of that stuff still happens.
I never heard of the show let alone plan on watching it. however, I enjoyed it, it kept my interest to the end. I will definitely will be watching it.
Nope, don’t need to see another show telling me that racial issues still exist no matter which decade you were brought from via time travel and that every white guy in a uniform is a racist. I’ve seen enough TV shows trying to teach me diversity and yet I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood and I don’t need it to be taught to me with every single TV show these days.
I saw the original and it was much better.
Sure Jan 🙄
Is Jan the new Karen?
No Rob, you are
Not a woman…
You’ve seen enough shows try to reach you diversity, grew up in a supposedly diverse neighborhood and yet clearly have missed all of the points of those lessons. Amazing.
Really? I have friends of almost every race, ethnic background, religion, income and I’m not allowed to have an opinion regarding TV? and BTW Kate isn’t my original name, I used to have a male name and so I guess I’m not diverse enough? I doubt you could walk a foot in my shoes… try another target for criticism, one that actually deserves it.
Where did I say you weren’t allowed an opinion? However saying you’re tired of shows exploring racial themes isn’t really an opinion I thought anyone would be proud of but it’s been a wild 2 years and literally nothing surprises me anymore.
Also let’s not get into the oppression Olympics here. You know absolutely jack all about me and my life. I didn’t assume anything about you outside of what you yourself said. At least pretend to give me the same respect in return.
TV doesn’t represent the real world and this show is fictional and and I’m repeating your “you don’t know jack about me and my life” and you couldn’t be more correct. My opinions are based on my experiences as are all of our opinions. I don’t know where you were going with the Olympics reference.
I didn’t like the show and I’m well aware that TV has been white for the past 70 years or so but my point is that I don’t need the lessons that TV has been pushing in the last decade or so and has accelerated lately. I have a Poly-sci degree so the history of politics is something I’m well aware off and
respect is earned not given out freely…
Even if you don’t think you need these lessons, the US in general certainly does, unless you’ve been living in full cultural and social isolation for years and years and years. That country is an absolute hateful mess overall. The neighbourhood you claim to have grown up in or whatever is not indicative of the country as a whole. Plus the whole “I have friends of almost every race etc” line smacks of those people who are like “I can’t be racist because I have one black friend”. It doesn’t read in the best light or as being genuine, but then maybe that’s just how I culturally understand use of language.
Yes, the show is fictional, and what is wrong with something so obviously fictional incorporating some real-world issues? Most shows do that, it’s part of how we connect with the material and we ground ourselves in it, empathise with characters, etc. Even shows set in some other universe in another timeframe reference actions, emotions, hardships, etc. that we may understand.
I’m tired of shows exploring EXCLUSIVELY racial themes. There’s actually very little diversity in what tv offers right now, since every single show is essentially the same.
But.. Did that actually happen this episode?… The OTT guard never made any racial remark… Same for protest cop.. The woman who called the cops …i mean I would’ve too and if it was some white lady bangin on my door I woulda said so to the cops… Now as I’m black maybe if I had been in all those situations… I may look back and wonder.. Like I do with so many interactions.. But that’s a fact of life for us.. If the show was as oTT as some of y’all are saying i think it would be more obvious…
I’m actually really surprised that so many folks feel it’s so “political”…
As you prove the message has obviously not gotten through to a select group of the populace. I am sure the producers won’t miss your viewership. By felicia.
They will if nobody’s watching, and when 3/4 of every show has the exact same message, it becomes counterproductive.
Except most people aren’t bigots who whine about supposedly woke shows. Woke the term bigots use for they are putting a mirror up to my racism/bigotry and I don’t like it.
True that, Brian. True that.
Speaking of diversity, I’m confused about the trans man (Dr Andre). Is he trans on the show or did they just cast a trans actor to play a cis man. Either way it’s somewhat progressive. It’s not a very good show though, which is a shame given how inclusive they are trying to be.
I know, right? Imagine if they spent more time focusing on, Idk…quality?
On Andre’s character page on the 4400 wiki fandom site it stated that’s he’s trans man from the 1920s. However gender fixing surgery wasn’t that common back then so he would still physically be his dead gender and just crossing dressing as a man although the character background mentioned he was on the front line of WW1 as an trench doctor and I’m pretty sure that even back the US Army was transphobic and homophobic even before they officially penned The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.
Racial issues have been a huge part of American history since forever. Thats not to say every white person is racist but the further back you go in time the harder It has been for black people.
I prefer the original.
If it’s paced anything like the original it’s going to take at least a Season or 2 for Whatever the underlying mystery is this time to be revealed, unless they’re going with the same twist again.
Well, the original 4400 was advertised as a miniseries when it first aired. But it was extremely successful that the USA network decided to make it into a tv series. So, the first season became the original miniseries and then the following seasons were the continuation.
I think is pretty much like the show manifest so it better not move along so slowly because it might not last that long
A pleasant surprise. I’ve never seen the original series, so I’m approaching this material with fresh eyes. The concept is pretty solid. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the season has in store.
I think it’s pretty much like manifest and I don’t think it will last long enough for you to be satisfied
I enjoyed it. Definitely tuning in to see where this is going. Didn’t see the original. Never heard of it. But this was a very intriguing pilot.
Shanice is the one who brought up RBG. If she came from 2003 her daughter would be 18 and they clearly said 16 multiple times.
She’s from 2005..
Correct. That’s the year the Rihanna song she was jamming to before being taken was released.
So they literally just race swapped the original and did a reboot? Ahh got it.
Not even race swapped. If they managed to write the same quality show, with the characters they’re using now? I wouldn’t even be focusing on the color of anyone’s skin. I mean, The 4400 was the show that pretty much introduced us to the great Mahershala Ali, and they dealt with race issues in such a mature, adult way…not even remotely distracting from the premise itself. There are so many things wrong with this pale (pardon the pun) remake:
– White characters written as cartoon characters.
– The people in charge are a corrections officer and a social worker?? Yeah right!! This is tantamount to an alien invasion! Where are the MIB’s?
– We get backstory from one character. The original allowed us to see multiple characters from when they disappeared, so when they return, we’re quickly invested in these peoples’ lives. Right now, there’s not a single character I care about.
– And I just read there’s a trans actor playing a traditional male role (the doctor). Absolutely nothing wrong with that whatsoever, obviously. But if they tried the reverse? Yeah…it’s all you’d hear about.
I give it a few more episodes, to be fair, but so far this is a dud.
The reason why they made this show more diverse this time around is because People of color are not focused on much in the media after they go missing unlike White People who make breaking news every time they go missing. Gabby Peitio is the most recent prominent example.
They gotta step it up.
No way those people aren’t in a much more secure facility with MUCH higher up government agents in charge.
I’mma watch and see where it goes, though.
4400 is a great story concept but they ruined it by making it all about race. Equal representation is great but they went too far over to one side and it takes away from the sci fy storyline.
You know Black ppl existing… Isn’t “Making it about race” off all these black characters.. I only remember the lady from the 50s and the doc from the 20s even bringing up race… And doesn’t that make sense? They woulda grown up in Jim Crow.. So being around white law enforcement. Should realistically make them weary at best.. Terrified at worst
I totally agree with your comment I thought that the very first time I started watching it
I really enjoyed the show!!! Hopefully the ratings are good!! can’t wait for the next episode!!
I will catch it in another 9 months when it posts on Netflix.
I’m feeling the cast/characters, still figuring out who’s who and some of their personal agendas.
Found it to be racist.
The working title for this series must’ve been The 572. I was mostly watching 4400 last night because NCIS was a repeat, but I don’t think I’ll continue to follow or record this show, and I probably won’t watch it again until NCIS airs another encore episode. But I’m definitely curious about what powers the hippie girl has.
Another remake of a so-so series. That seems to be the way of the future of television shows. Good cast, but I just couldn’t get into it. Have the writers really just run out of ideas so they take “barely cold and dead in the ground” mediocre stuff like The 4400? Oh well…I’ve still got The Mandalorian and The Expanse to enjoy so that’s sort of a win, show-wise.
I haven’t watched any of the CW supernatural sci-fi shows, but this one is very promising. I find these types of shows a little too fantastical which is I guess the point.
Reminds me a bit of a cross between CBS’ historical crime drama Cold Case and late 90s/early 2000s Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. This one really covers a swath of people from different time periods in history, so I really think this is something I can find myself immersed in! I wasn’t aware of the original series from 2004, though, since it premiered when I was off to college and watching less TV.
Oh, my. If only the acting or writing (or anything) were better.
African American’s all of the 4400 white guards bad this is racist
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I enjoyed the new 4400. I like adding the current climate to the original story, putting a new twist on it. The fact that in almost 100 years, the issues black americans have dealt with, may have radically changed, yet the overall systemic oppression hasn’t. I get they were trying to show that via the ‘aggressive’ officer trying to prove his “authority” over others. But it was a bit over the top. I’m more intrigued in the direction the reboot will go, compared to the original. Overall, better than I expected. (Which usually bodes well.)
The writing… the dialouge… the acting… I cant decide what was more terrible.
Please want to see more of Hayden. He is the true leader.