J.J. Abrams has taken no breaks since his popular TV series Lost ended last year. Between his all new blockbuster film Super 8 coming out June 10th, and the sequel to his successful Star Trek reboot in the works, he's also producing an all new show for Fox called Alcatraz, and we have the three minute trailer and official synopsis below.
Alcatraz stars Jurassic Park's Sam Neill, Sons of Anarchy's Sarah Jones, and Abrams' old pal Jorge Garcia from Lost. Here's the all new trailer for the show: The plot seems interesting enough to carry out quite a few seasons, and knowing Abrams it probably will. I can't help but draw similarities to Lost, mainly because of the whole disappearing act Abrams is once again using as a setup. The first season will probably serve as more of a tease, and have fans asking a multitude of questions that won't be answered till maybe three seasons in. That's J.J. Abrams for you.
Now along with the interesting trailer, is the full synopsis for the show:
When San Francisco Police Department DET. REBECCA MADSEN (Sarah Jones, “Sons of Anarchy”) is assigned to a grisly homicide case, a fingerprint leads her to a shocking suspect: JACK SYLVANE (guest star Jeffrey Pierce, “The Nine”), a former Alcatraz inmate who died decades ago. Given her family history – both her grandfather and surrogate uncle, RAY ARCHER (Robert Forster, “Jackie Brown”), were guards at the prison – Madsen’s interest is immediately piqued, and once the enigmatic, knows-everything-but-tells-nothing government agent EMERSON HAUSER (Sam Neill, “Jurassic Park”) tries to impede her investigation, she’s doggedly committed. Madsen turns to Alcatraz expert and comic book enthusiast, DR. DIEGO “DOC” SOTO (Jorge Garcia, “Lost”), to piece together the inexplicable sequence of events. The twosome discovers that Sylvane is not only alive, but he’s loose on the streets of San Francisco, leaving bodies in his wake. And strangely, he hasn’t aged a day since he was in Alcatraz, when the prison was ruled by the iron-fisted WARDEN EDWIN JAMES (Jonny Coyne, “Undercovers”) and the merciless ASSOCIATE WARDEN E.B. TILLER (Jason Butler Harner, “The Changeling”).
Madsen and Soto reluctantly team with Agent Hauser and his technician, LUCY BANERJEE (Parminder Nagra, “ER”), to stop Sylvane’s vengeful killing spree. By delving into Alcatraz history, government cover-ups and Rebecca’s own heritage, the team will ultimately discover that Sylvane is only a small part of a much larger, more sinister present-day threat. For while he may be the first, it quickly becomes clear that Sylvane won’t be the last prisoner to reappear from Alcatraz.
Through the course of the investigation, Madsen and Soto will learn that Agent Hauser has known about the prison’s secret history and has been awaiting the prisoners’ return. Soto will witness his life’s work – the history of Alcatraz – come alive. Madsen will be forced to keep her supportive San Francisco cop fiancé, JIMMY DICKENS (Santiago Cabrera, “Heroes”), at arm’s length from the highly classified assignment as she sees everything she thought she knew about her family’s past shattered, all while fighting to keep the country safe from history’s most dangerous criminals.
Between Alcatraz and Steven Spielberg's Terra Nova coming to Fox next fall (Along with Simon Cowell's X-Factor), Fox has one successful season ahead of them. Abrams better pull this one through, because networks are knocking off shows like clock work, but I'm sure his star power (Especially after Super 8) will attract much more viewers to the show.
Will you be catching Alcatraz next Fall?