I want the show “Undercovers” starring the very sexy Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw to last. Truly I do. I have even gone out of my way to support it each week since its original air date in hopes of raising its ratings. The reasons why I wanted the show to do well are fairly simplistic but important (in my mind) nonetheless. Mainly I wanted the show to succeed because there aren’t any shows on prime time TV that have African Americans as the leads. For some, that might have been a selfish reason but as a Black woman, who sometimes wants to see characters on TV that look like her, it makes perfect sense. To no avail, “Undercovers” has so far landed in fourth place for the hour behind “Survivor,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and the ABC sitcoms. The show scored a weak 2.0/6 and its chances for a long future don’t look good. I do still have some faith in the show and think that if show creator JJ Abrams and the producers of the show made some slight tweaks to it, it might have some success. Here are a few problems that I see with the show:

1. The Characters Have No Personality… Give Them Some!

Aside from their joke cracking side kick Leo Nash who constantly brags proudly that he has “done sex” with the wife, there are no characters with strong personalities. Audiences like characters who are complex, flawed, sometimes likable sometimes not. The couple in this show are cookie cutter in every way. Meaning that anyone could be playing those roles. The actors are bringing nothing special or unique to the roles aside from their good looks as well. Also, the roles they are playing lack personality. Nothing about either of them make me want to know more about them, their story, their successes or their struggles. Aside from the two both being good looking people, they bore me. It is only so far pretty can go with me.

2. Did Somebody Order A Cornball?

The lines, the interactions between the characters, are all so… Corny. Who talks like that? More specifically, what group of top notch undercover world spies talks like that? I get that they are supposed to have left their spy past for this Dick and Jane story book life. I do. Still, does that mean that they when they did that, all of their swag left as well? Now, I am not insinuating that they need to be on the screen talking like rappers or gangstas but my God! Some of their lines are incredibly lame and no one speaks like that in real life. Not even people who really are cornballs!

3. The Characters Are Watered Down To Please The White Audiences

I get it. As I mentioned in reason number 2, I do not expect the lead characters to talk in Ebonics 2.0. But something about their speech in general tells me that the writers are attempting to water it down in order to connect more with the White audiences and I get why. They are probably thinking that they already have a disadvantage by the leads both being African Americans and the mainstream public never embracing a show with African Americans as leads. Not since “The Cosby Show” at least. So, they are assuming that they can’t give them much urban personality, or make them act too “Black” or they will lose their White audience. The problem with that is that if they titter too far on either end, they could lose both demographics of audiences at some point. This is why there has to be a healthy balance. Both audience demographics must feel a connection with the actors on some level. Besides, a sexy, fly ass Black couple who has traveled all over the world as spies and are renowned would have a certain umph to their personality. Their talk, their walk, their smile, would all have a genesequa about it that only they could bring. They are missing the “stank” that most minority performers have to them naturally and can implement in their performances with ease. No doubt this added flare is being watered down by the instructions of the show’s producers. Hell, even Phylicia Rashad and Bill Cosby had a certain umph that they brought to the characters of Cliff and Clair Huxtable; and they did it without making them over the top ghetto. Yet we still “felt” them and audiences of every ethnicity were able to connect with them for season after season.

4. Story Line Gets Complicated

I know that the show is only an hour long so they have to break things down and wrap them up fairly quickly but sometimes, the story line looses me. I miss out on why they are suddenly traveling to Berlin or which master villain they are after this time. They explain the story so quickly that they leave me with questions. This is because they have to rush through a sometimes very complicated storyline within a 45 minute time-line. In doing this, they often lose me and leave me with questions about certain occurrences.

5. We Get It, They Have Sex

The whole thing where every night they must be in the bed having sex, as if the spy life has rejuvenated their sex life is lame in itself. The first couple of times when the show ended like that, it was cute, I will admit. Now it is border lining on being corny. A description that I have seen attached to this show often.

6. Chemistry Void

The actors overall lack chemistry among one another. Sometimes this chemistry or flow between characters takes time to develop. Unfortunately, studios, and TV stations alike no longer give a show an lengthy period to develop their yin and yang among the actors. There is too much money to be lost. I have heard of shows being canceled only after a few episodes.