Proof

Beals does hard-edged well, her bluntness an effective buffer against the potential treacle of the weekly cases.

Well-trod TV ground, but Beals bring a a sensitive, magnetic depth to an otherwise slow-moving drama. [19 Jun 2015, p.57]

Yes, of course Proof is regularly mawkish (the pilot has a subplot about a very cute little girl patient, who draws pictures of a grandfather she never knew existed) and it’s cluttered with clichés such as “People believe what they want to believe.” But on its own terms--which is as a comforting medical-supernatural drama with a strong female lead designed to follow TNT’s Rizzoli & isles--Proof proves its modest worth.

All of this could play like an insufferable new-age soap opera, and, when the focus is off of Beals, occasionally does. But from the first scenes, it’s clear Proof is trying to tweak convention wherever and whenever possible.

Beals’ sturdy performance is an overall plus, but Proof has a harder time selling its basic week-to-week premise.

Beals isn’t bad and Edi Gathegi is better as her put-upon intern, but Proof feels like a show that takes complex issues and merely skims their surface.

It's an intriguing idea (more intriguing, anyway, than having Beals cracking chests and mouthing off at people for an hour a week), but honestly, the case-of-the-week execution on Proof doesn't add up to a lot, medically or metaphysically.

TNT’s Proof is not a terrible show, but it is a terribly ordinary TNT drama.

Filled with cliches, the TNT series benefits from the casting of Jennifer Beals in the central role, but handcuffs her with a drab character and dead-end (pardon the pun) concept.