TV Preview: Happy Town

May 26th, 2009

Okay, if you watch this trailer, you’ve got to see it at least half of it. The beginning of the trailer really makes it out as if it’s some Everwood type of series, but it isn’t at all. Here’s the description from ABC (I hadn’t read the description before watching the trailer; otherwise I wouldn’t have been that surprised):

For the past seven years Haplin, Minnesota’s lived up to its nickname, Happy Town. Even the air is sweet with the smell of bread from the industrial bakery. Unfortunately, everything is about to change. 

Seven years ago, an unknown psycho, nick-named “The Magic Man” kidnapped seven children before Sheriff Griffin Conroy chased him away. But the discovery of a local’s gruesome murder and the disappearance of a new child have everyone whispering the Magic Man is back. Now, Mayor Haplin has ordered Deputy Tommy Conroy to replace his father as Sheriff — whether he wants the job, or not. Tommy knows better than to cross the town royalty, whose bakery employs half the town, including his wife. As Tommy begins investigating, his friends and neighbors become suspects and the quiet small town life he’s always cherished begins to sour. But Tommy’s not the only one investigating Haplin. A mysterious young woman has just arrived in town, and she’s quietly searching for answers about her family’s history with the residents of Happy Town. 

And the trailer:

It’s weird that the description of the series, manly focuses on the sheriff, while the trailer focuses on the new girl. I doubt this series will survive; thiller-y who-dunnit shows with only a red line as plot rarely do well on TV. And even if the first season turns out okay, it won’t last beyond that.