NBC’s Windfall..Does it Hit the Jackpot?

What would you do if you won the lottery? I can’t imagine there is one person reading this that hasn’t asked themselves that question at one point in time. Now imagine how much more fun it would be if your friends became equally rich at the same time. Hot damn, now that would be a good time, right?

Windfall, a summer series drama premiering this Thursday at 10pm on NBC, allows us to watch as a group of friends, neightbors, and the pizza delivery chick live out that very dream when they collectively win $386M in the state lottery. The show follows the winners “good” fortune to see how their lives are affected by their new found wealth.

Although 20 people are splitting the cash, the show really focuses in on the impact of 9 of the characters.
We got…

• Sean (D.J. Cotrona), the bad boy flower delivery guy with a sordid past, perhaps a good heart, and killer eyes
• Damien (Jon Foster), a 17 year old with an impulsive streak and bad relationship with his pops
• Nina (Lana Parilla) and Peter (Luke Perry), a “seemingly” happy married couple with two daughters
• Cameron (Jason Gedrick), a college professor who happens to be Nina’s childhood sweetheart, and his wife Beth (Sarah Wynter), a florist
• Kimberly (Malinda Williams), a hard working single mother
• Maggie (Jaclyn DeSantis), a young and sassy nurse who wants to use this money to help others
• Frankie (Alice Grecezyn), a teenager whose life only gets worse when her mother wins a share of the lottery admist a divorce from her dad

Listen NBC, you had me at Luke Perry. Sorry, but as a 30 year old woman, I am the 90210 generation, and Dylan McKay will always be in my heart. He’s like one of the New Kids on the Block…no matter where he goes, or what he does, I will follow him blindly. Luke’s Windfall characeter, Peter Shaefer, is far from the brooding rebel that was Dylan McKay. Paul is a devoted husband and father who is trying his best to hold his marriage together despite his wife’s lingering glances at her childhood sweetheart who lives down the road.

But there is more to Windfall than Luke Perry. There are other hot guys too…ok, and hot women!! I couldn’t help but notice the eye candy while watching the pilot, sue me. So what were my thoughts on the first episode?

Well, the pilot was definitely fast paced. Pay attention on Thursday night because there is a lot to take in during the one hour show. At times things were going so fast that it felt a little forced. But then again, it’s the pilot and with an ensemble cast there’s a lot of backstory to breakdown in one hour. I have a feeling that the show might hit its groove during the second and third episodes when things aren’t going at such a breakneck speed.

The first episode gives a small glimpse into the lives of the lotto winners right before they hit it big, and immediately after. Within hours of winning, things around them already seem different. While most find the money a blessing, others are worried about what trouble this cash could bring them. And rightfully so.

So do I think Windfall is worth checking out? Absolutely. I liked it. I’m all about new programming during the summer months, and Windfall seems like it could be a new guilty pleasure. The pilot episode doesn’t hold up against the like of Lost or Grey’s Anatomy, but NBC knows that. If it were that good they would have put in on the regular season’s schedule, right?!

I figure most of you will be watching My Name is Earl & The Office on Thursday nights anyway, so keep it on NBC and give Windfall a shot. If for no other reason than to see Luke Perry sans sideburns.