Among the new dramas that NBC recently announced as being part of the upcoming lineup is The Philanthropist. The series, which centers on a renegade billionaire named Teddy Rist, a man on a mission of philanthropy, is set to take over the Monday night post-Heroes timeslot next winter.
Here’s NBC’s description of the series:
“THE PHILANTHROPIST -- This one-hour drama is about a rebel with a cause. Teddy Rist loves women, money and power. After the tragic death of his only child, Teddy has an awakening and becomes the world's first vigilante philanthropist -- a renegade billionaire who uses his wealth, connections and power to help people in need. He'll do anything to achieve his goals -- bargain with the self-righteous, trade with the nefarious and even tell the truth. Instead of spending $25,000 a plate at a fundraiser, he’s dodging bullets in third-world countries to hand-deliver vaccine. It's a global adventure that will take viewers to the ends of the Earth and will inspire them as well. "The Philanthropist" is produced by Universal Media Studios, Original Media and the Levinson/Fontana Company. Tom Fontana ("Homicide: Life on the Street"), Barry Levinson (“Homicide: Life on the Street”) and Charlie Corwin ("L.A. Ink") are the executive producers; Jim Juvonen is a co-executive producer."
A show about a vigilante philanthropist dodging bullets to hand out vaccines? I don’t know why but the premise of this series isn’t really doing it for me. Maybe it’s because it sounds like the kind of show that aims to be inspirational but only comes off as sappy. Then again, it could also be the kind of series that looks like that on paper but actually turns out to be great as a show. So for me, the jury’s still out on this one but I’m willing to keep an open mind about it.
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