Cupid’s Arrow Strikes Again Starting Tonight

It’s not like TV remakes are anything new (holla, 90210!). But a show’s creator getting another shot at his or her own failed series is practically unheard of. That’s why I’m curious about Cupid, the new – well, and old – series from Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas that starts tonight on ABC.

The first Cupid, starring Jeremy Piven and Paula Marshall, aired 10 years ago on ABC but only lasted 14 episodes. Thomas said back at the TCA press tour in January that he hadn’t even talked about the show in almost a decade. “There was no reason to,” he said. “It was an idea that I had gotten on the air. There was no reason to believe anyone would want to do it again.” Then ABC approached him about a remake (as did the CW, which ended up making the short-lived Valentine, Inc. instead), and soon he was jumping back into Cupid’s world.

This version of the story stars Bobby Cannavale in Piven’s old role and Sarah Paulson in Marshall’s. The premise is essentially the same: Cannavale believes he’s Cupid sent down from heaven to match up lovelorn singles; only after 100 successful love matches can he return to Mt. Olympus. Paulson is a well-regarded relationship therapist and skeptic assigned to Cupid’s case (though she calls him by his human name, Trevor).

I wasn’t a fan of the original series (nor was I a detractor – I somehow missed the whole thing entirely), but I saw enough in the first episode of this Cupid to keep me watching for a while. Specifically, Cannavale is a lot of fun as the goofy Trevor, and while I’m less a fan of Paulson, she plays well off of him. What I didn’t like was the dull couple-of-the-week story, and those are going to have to get better in a hurry if Cupid wants to keep me around. But I’m most curious to see what fans of the original have to say about this one, so if that applies to you, come back here and tell me, OK? In the meantime, to watch a couple of clips from tonight’s premiere, just read more.

Photo copyright 2009 ABC, Inc.