Joseph Fiennes and John Cho Lead a Stacked Cast in This Powerful and Underrated Sci-Fi Thriller Series

The 2009 short-lived ABC drama FlashForward should be included on every “cancelled too soon” list. Although it only lasted one season, the show had a stellar ensemble cast and creative team behind it, coupled with a fascinating sci-fi premise that allowed for great character development. FlashForward centers around a group of FBI agents and their loved ones after a global blackout causes everyone on Earth to see six months into the future. The show poses the question to its characters, as well as the audience: If you could see into the future, would you think your fate had already been sealed, or would you try to change it?

What Is 'FlashForward' About?

Based on the Robert J. Sawyer novel, FlashForward was created by Brannon Braga and David S. Goyer. The show takes place in Los Angeles after the entire world simultaneously loses consciousness for 137 seconds, causing mass chaos. When everyone wakes up, it's discovered that everyone saw a few seconds from the exact same date six months in the future. Although the flash-forwards were brief, they raised many questions about fate and how much each person's future is in their own hands.

The show's high-concept sci-fi elements lend itself to exciting and entertaining moments, high-octane action, and a compelling mystery. The heart of the show lies in its characters and how they grapple with what they saw in their flash-forwards — some good, some bad, some non-existent. The clashing beliefs in fate make relationships much more complex, and as the season goes on, those visions become closer to reality.

The series has a great ensemble cast led by Joseph Fiennes. While he may be known as a TV actor now, after portraying the chilling Commander Waterford in The Handmaid's Tale, back in 2009, this was his first TV role as a leading man. Fiennes plays FBI Special Agent Mark Benford, a recovering alcoholic who is at the center of the investigation into who caused the blackouts, also known as Mosaic.

The Sensational Ensemble Cast in ‘FlashForward’ Depicts How Each Character Grapples With Their Future

While it's no surprise that Mark's vision shows him at work, there's an unsettling development; in his flash-forward, he's drinking again. He keeps this a secret from his wife, Olivia (Sonya Walger), who struggles to understand her flash-forward. In it, she sees herself in bed with a man she does not know. While Olivia comes clean to Mark and is adamant that she would never cheat on him, the specter of this potential future haunts the couple for the entire season. Walger and Fiennes have great on-screen chemistry as a couple clearly in love but grappling with this impending reality that may completely derail what they've built together.

Mark's partner, FBI Special Agent Demetri Noh (John Cho), is about to marry his long-time girlfriend Zoey (Gabrielle Union), but he has a very different problem with his flash-forward. While everyone else saw the future, he saw nothing but blackness. Unsure and afraid of what this could mean, he hides it from Zoey, who is thrilled by her flash-forward of their future wedding. This creates a lot of tension in their relationship and causes Demetri to make some questionable decisions that jeopardize everything. Cho and Union both inhabit their roles authentically, showing emotions ranging from blissfully happy to terrified.

Simon Campos (Dominic Monaghan) is a brilliant but unpredictable scientific genius who has a mysterious link to the blackouts. While Monaghan was at the tail end of playing Charlie in the ABC series Lost, this role couldn't be any different. Campos is seen as a villain who keeps a lot of secrets, which Monaghan plays with real intensity. Trying to hold everything together is Stan Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance), the Assistant Director of the LA Field Office of the FBI. With his signature gravitas and commanding screen presence, Vance plays Wedeck as a man desperate to keep the investigation under control while also leveraging his political savvy with some very powerful people he knows.

Unfortunately, ABC cancelled FlashForward after one season after an unusually long winter hiatus, even with a very compelling cliffhanger finale. While the show wasn't perfect, it could be argued that, given a little more time, it could have been a hit. It certainly had the talent behind it, but one could argue that it was too ahead of its time and may have been too big for broadcast. If it had come out during the streaming boom, it might have been given the time it needed to flesh out the show's concept and further develop its rich characters. Still, with its talent behind it, from the actors to the creators, and the great characters and questions the show presents in just one season, FlashForward is definitely worth a watch now.

Season 1 of FlashForward is available for purchase on Prime Video.

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