Considering the multitude of networks – and websites – that are in the business of creating scripted television these days, sometimes it is easy to see the announcement of a new show, but sadly lose track of it while it transitions from pilot to production. So, when the marketing for MTV’s Finding Carter ramped up a month or so ago, it was like Christmas morning in June. MTV trotting out a concept you’d expect on ABC Family combined with a killer cast quickly jumped the show up on my summer list of “most excited about” right next to Starz’ Outlander.

Finding Carter thrives on the myriad relationships Carter has with those around her, chiefly her two mothers. Cynthia Watros is Elizabeth, her biological mother whose job as a detective enables her drive to put her daughter’s kidnapper (Milena Govich) behind bars. Carter’s relationship with the rest of the family is a little paint-by-the-numbers, but it works: she fights with her twin sister (very much like most pairs of twin sisters I know), bonds with the younger brother the rest of the family seems to forgets and seemingly clicks instantly with her father (Alexis Denisoff), who is harboring a bit of a secret that will likely drive a large wedge between them the inevitable moment it is revealed.

Finding Carter will succeed only if those character dynamics are kept interesting. Govich interestingly is not a member of the main cast; the story will likely spend little time moving backwards and concentrate more on Carter trying to find – and potentially upend – whatever new normal her life will allow for. The preview of the season MTV provided at the episode’s close indicates that her relationship with Elizabeth will get considerably worse before the idea of getting better can enter into the equation.

Elizabeth’s affair – while clichéd – is a complication that this show will benefit from. As devoid of emotion as Carter sees her mother as being, her extra-marital activities are another marker of just how broken the tragedy left her. Carter will likely never accept her while she hunts for Govich’s Lori Stevens. At this point, there’s no way I’ll ever believe that Elizabeth will ever give up that hunt; I’m curious just how that dynamic will play out (and what exactly did Lori mean when she told Carter “There are things you don’t know, there are things you should know?”).

 Notes & Quotes

• You really write a show where the main character has a twin sister, then cast an actress with a (acting) twin sister, and you go fraternal? Plus, it looks like there’s a five-year age difference between Prescott and Anna Jacoby-Heron who plays Taylor.
• “We need to pay more attention to you.” – David
  “Yeah, that’d be nice.” – Grant
• “You were right. Lori Stevens was here. She risked her life just so she could see me for five seconds, just to tell me she loved me. Because she’s my mother … and you’ve taken me away from her. You want to find my abductor? It’s you.” – Carter
• “It’s a side business; I also sell glowsticks … I do very well at parties.” – Ofe
• “Yelp for drug dealers … that’s a potentially huge idea.” – Ofe
• “I was in a coma?” – Carter
  “It was a little coma.” – David

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