It’s been some time since we’ve had old school juicy primetime cleaning soap — and “Promised Land” suits the invoice properly.
The brand new ABC sequence stars John Ortiz (“Messiah,” “Togetherness”) as Joe Sandoval, the rich and highly effective proprietor of Heritage Home, a sprawling winery within the picturesque Sonoma Valley. It’s the third-largest producer of wine within the US — however, in fact, there are these pesky little issues effervescent beneath the sunshine and soil feeding Joe’s grapes: household infighting, backstabbing, violence and Joe’s spiteful ex-wife, Margaret (Bellamy Young), who’s set on reclaiming the winery she thinks Joe stole from her late father. “Don’t mess with my firm,” Joe warns her in a cold sitdown assembly. Oh, however you realize she is going to.
There’s sufficient intrigue crammed into the opening episode to gas a brief miniseries, together with a significant subplot wherein a number of unlawful immigrants from Mexico, together with wannabe trainer Juana (Katya Martin), cross the border, encounter bloody violence in Bakersfield, then head north to the hoped-for “higher life” at Heritage Home that gained’t await them. It’s a well timed twist, however with a sly caveat: “Promised Land” is about within the Eighties Reagan Period.
After which, in fact, there’s the blended Latino Sandoval household on the coronary heart of the melodrama: Joe’s loving second spouse, Lettie (Cecilia Suarez); his two daughters, winery heir-apparent Veronica (Christina Ochoa) and the youthful Carmen (Mariel Molino); his prodigal, scheming son Antonio (Tonatiuh), again after being exiled to New York Metropolis; his rebellious excessive school-aged son Junior (Miguel Ángel García); and his bitter stepson, Mateo (Augusto Aguilera), who’s managing the winery however feels that he, not Veronica, ought to assume the top-dog management place from Joe.
There’s extra, rather more, however you’ll want to observe “Promised Land” to soak up the impression of a number of different characters thrown into this spicy stew. Chances are you’ll want a scorecard to maintain observe of everybody and their multi-layered arcs — it’s quite a bit to trace with — however the motion trots alongside at a pleasant clip and there’s actually quite a bit to sink your tooth into within the upcoming episodes.
The sequence’ ’80s-era timeframe and its multi-generational story arc brings to thoughts sprawling nighttime soaps from that period — most notably “Dynasty” and “Dallas” — and “Promised Land” ought to show itself a worthy successor within the style.
