He’s Gone – As the first episode of The Calling begins, Avraham (Jeff Wilbusch) arrives at the crime scene where Janine Harris (Juliana Canfield) tells him that the man in the hotdog costume got into a dispute with the victim. After learning no one witnessed it, Avraham gives her instructions for what to do next. The hotdog guy claims the victim went berserk and he just pushed him off of him. As the man is prepared for transport to the station, Avraham tells Janine to keep him in the costume. He bends down next to the victim and begins praying in Hebrew. A woman arrives at the police station to report her son missing. Avraham and the costumed man arrive. Captain Kathleen Davies (Karen Robinson) tells Avraham about the woman who just walked into the station.

He talks to the hotdog man who introduces himself as Joel Hamlin. Detective Earl Malzone (Michael Mosley) joins Janine and Kathleen because he loves watching Avraham work. Joel claims the victim made a comment about his costume so he responded. The victim supposedly attacked him. When Joel pushed him, the man fell and hit his head. When asked by Avraham, Joel remembers that the man said something about “wiener dick”. Avraham asks how long he has been working as Mr. Footlong. It has been about six months and before that he was COO at Stake Side which closed due to COVID. The man has three kids and is divorced from his wife. They divorced recently so it has been a difficult year for Joel. He claims he can’t remember what he said to cause the man to attack him.

Joel insists he just shoved the guy off of him although Avraham noticed blood on the back of the man’s head. Avraham asks if it is possible that the man turned to walk away and he just swung. He goes on to say people snap sometimes because they’re human. Avraham goes over everything that the man has been through and how he has to dress up in that costume. He tells Joel that the best thing for him and his children would be for him to be forthcoming. As the man begins breaking down, the others outside praise Avraham’s work. Next, Avraham sits down with Nora Conte (Stephanie Szostak) to learn about her missing son, Vincent. She explains that he didn’t come home from school and hasn’t answered his phone. She spoke to his friend and learned that he was at school. When school let out at 3:30, he was missing.

Avraham suggests 16-year-old boys can sometimes go with 16-year-old girls, but Nora believes her son is missing. She gets a call from her husband who is on a business trip to Austin, Texas. She pleads with Avraham to help.  Michael asks Zack Miller (Noel Fisher) to stay after class. He tells Zack that he finished the manuscript and concluded that he isn’t meant to be a novelist. Zack reminds him that he told them not to let anyone tell you that you can’t write. Zack believes he can get better. The teacher admits that he previously said he didn’t think this craft could be taught. A distraught Zack leaves and walks down the street alone before imagining that he was hit by a car. Janine tells Avraham that the man seemed like he wanted to confess. Avraham says many do because people tend to be burdened by their wrongdoing. She says they’re all taught the trick to value them, but Avraham says it probably shouldn’t be a trick.

Then, he tells her how the Talmud teaches them to see a single human being as the whole world. He believes that everyone is precious and he thinks Joel saw and felt that. When Zack makes it home, Dania (Annabelle Dexter-Jones) says it took her over an hour to put the baby down tonight so she earned every last bubble in her bath. Zack pretends that everything was okay at his class. When things get romantic, Zack ends up getting into the tub with her with his clothes on. Janine approaches Kathleen to say that she wants to partner with Avi to learn what he does, but Kathleen says you can’t learn what he does. Dania gets up in the middle of the night to feed Luke and finds Zack sitting alone. She tries to find out what is going on because she is freaked out about what happened in the tub. Dania admits it was a little aggressive for her taste.

Although Zack thinks they were making love, Dania claims he imposed himself. She insists she won’t be done like that. Retired detective Wally Zeitz does a podcast that is written by the New York City Police Department. He tells the audience about a case involving a suspect who terrorized the roadways of Queens for seven hours. The following day, Avi learns that he is going to be partnered with Janine for a while. Janine tries to use his religion to get him to go along with it. Nora arrives and tells Avi that her son is still missing. Zack notices a police presence around his apartment when he makes it home. Dania tells him that Vincent is missing and she learned after a detective visited. He tries to get answers from Janine who will only tell him that they’ll be down soon. When he returns to Dania, he says something bad happened because it was like a crime scene.

The detectives come down and tell them that they know only that Vincent is missing. Zack explains that he was Vincent’s tutor and tutored him about twice a week. He last saw him Monday on the stairway. Zack didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Avraham asks about the family since some people heard fighting upstairs on Monday night. While she couldn’t tell who it was, Dania admits to hearing yelling. They were male voices. Zack asks if he thinks the father did something to Vincent. Avi confesses he wasn’t expecting that question. When he asks if he has reason to believe that, Zack says no although the father is a little aggressive. He insists they didn’t talk about his father much or things going on in Vincent’s life. Avraham asks about suicide, but Zack doesn’t remember anything like that either. Zack questions why he is looking at him like he is a suspect.

Avraham claims people say he does that sometimes but it isn’t his intent. As they leave, Janine admits that he was looking at him oddly. Avraham says he was looking at him like that because he is withholding something. He imagines Vincent standing in front of him until the boy disappears. He gets a call on the radio relating to shots fired at Art’s Deli. Once he arrives, he learns that there are about ten hostages inside. The man has been shooting the ceiling and just screaming so it could be schizophrenia or drugs. The man is a vet and his name is Kyle Henderson (Dylan Prince). Avi goes inside and confronts the man who is erratic. When Kyle gets distracted, Avi breaks his arm, takes his gun, and quickly subdues him. At the station, the Captain ridicules his decision to go into a hostage situation like that.

Janine calls it self-destructive too. She reminds him that they’re not trained to disarm terrorists unless he is with the CIA or Mossad. Avi finds security footage of John Wentworth (Tony Curran) who used to teach philosophy at Rockefeller. He was discharged six years ago for teaching Mark with a little too much vigor so he is homeless now. Avi saw him on the street this morning. He might have information since he walks those streets regularly. Avi wants to go back to the Conte house due to a feeling he had there. Zack rushes into his teacher’s workplace to dispute what he said about him being unable to write. He tells Zack that he writes about real estate because it is the world he knows, but he doesn’t know what world Zack knows. Zack is encouraged to dig his guts out and reveal himself. Avi goes to Vincent’s room and finds the luggage set that his mom gave him.

Nora doesn’t think anything seemed different before he left for school that day. She shows Avi a picture of Vincent’s new backpack and the coat he was wearing when he left. When asked about the argument, Nora says she didn’t hear it because she wasn’t there. She suspects it was about Vincent being a disappointment to his father. She thinks the wrong person went missing. While Avi sits, he tells Nora that he is a very good detective. Before long, Vincent’s phone rings. Nora says he wouldn’t have left without it, but she doesn’t know the password either. They briefly argue about whether Vincent might’ve left intentionally. Avi tells her that she must never lie to him if they’re going to find him. He knows that Vincent has been unhappy for a long time. Avraham has dinner with Janine and tells her about holding Nora’s hand. She ridicules that decision. Zack confesses to Dania that he lied about Michael liking the book.

Dania thinks he is wrong and that Zack has something to say. Zack doesn’t want to work at a bookstore for the rest of his life or write for Popular Mechanics. She claims Stephen King said the same thing right before he sold Carrie so Zack’s day is coming. Avi watches them through the window before he notices John walking across the road. John knows about the boy who is missing and admits he saw him many times. He believes Avi and this boy feel that life is not enough. John did not see him yesterday morning. At the station, Janine complains to the Captain that she can’t question the boy’s father. Once Avi arrives, Leonard (Steven Pasquale) complains about them sending Nora home without helping. Avi eventually asks him about the argument. Leonard says they were arguing about college and Vincent wants to go to NYU.

Vincent wants a life to match his luggage. Leonard wanted to know what he’d contribute to the school since he hasn’t contributed anything in high school. He admits he reacted angrily when his son cursed him for pointing that out. Leonard knows he isn’t fit for it. Later, Janine tells Avi that he doesn’t have a criminal record. He says he likes drawing fish before asking why she wanted to partner with him. She wants to learn and she likes missing person cases. They get a call and meet with a man who heard about the Amber Alert. Avi finds something in a dumpster and says they better call the parents.

 

The Calling Review

The opening episode of The Calling sets up an interesting premise that may develop into something bigger after a few more episodes. The performances are okay although the show has a strange quirkiness to it that sometimes takes away from the realism. The scenes are effectively moody while the soundtrack didn’t really stand out. The religious aspect of Avraham’s character is probably one of the few things that distinguishes the show from others, but I am not sure how successful that was.

It didn’t enhance the show and just seemed like an added tidbit in the opening episode. The biggest issue I had with it was the excessive praising of Avraham by the others characters who seemed star-struck. The episode probably sent ten minutes or more reminding us that the character is an exceptionally skilled detective when this could’ve been achieved differently and more effectively.

The relationship between Avraham and Janine probably should’ve been a bit more mature instead of the constant squabbles. I would’ve liked to have seen Karen Robinson given a different role because this is like the third show in which she is a Sheriff, Captain, or Unit Commander. The concept is interesting though so The Calling may get better with a few more episodes.

Time will tell if this developed into a worthwhile detective drama but there were signs of hope in the first episode. The opening episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of The Calling can be found on Reel Mockery here. Using ad blockers to improve your browsing experience and still want to support our site? Learn how to do so here.

 

The Calling 2022 TV Show Cast

The Calling is a new Peacock detective drama that debuted on November 10. It follows NYPD Detective Avraham Avraham who is driven by his religious principles. The skilled detective will soon find himself involved in the case of a missing boy with help from his new partner Janine Harris. Jeff Wilbusch stars as Avraham while Juliana Canfield portrays his partner Janine. Karen Robinson once again takes command of the police force as Captain Kathleen Davies.

Jeff Wilbusch as Avraham Avraham

Israeli-German actor Jeff Wilbusch stars as the title character Avraham who is an eccentric NYPD detective with a reputation for solving cases. Wilbusch also played in The Little Drummer Girl, Bad Banks, Unorthodox, and Keep Breathing.

Juliana Canfield as Janine Harris

Succession’s Juliana Canfield portrays Avraham’s new partner Janine Harris who is eager to learn his unique methods. Canfield also played Beth DeVille in Y: The Last Man.

Karen Robinson as Captain Kathleen Davies

Karen Robinson is the Captain of the force. Kathleen Davies seems to go by the books except when she allows Janine to become Avraham’s new partner. Robinson has a rich history appearing in hits such as Schitt’s Creek, A Million Little Things, Echoes, and Pretty Hard Cases.

Noel Fisher as Zack Miller

Zack Miller is portrayed by Noel Fisher. Zack dreams of being a writer, but he begins questioning his path when his teacher tells him that he can’t write novels. He also happens to be the neighbor of missing teen Vincent Conte. Zack lives with his Dania and their child. The Canadian actor was also in The Red Line, The Conners, and Shameless.

• Tony Curran as John Wentworth
• Michael Mosley as Detective Earl Malzone
• Christopher Mann as Michael Rosen
• Steven Pasquale as Leonard Conte
• Stephanie Szostak as Nora Conte
• Charlie Besso as Vincent Conte