ABC’s Revenge ran four seasons and 89 episodes, from September 21, 2011, to May 10, 2015. Mike Kelley created it. Emily VanCamp played Emily Thorne, a young woman who moves to the Hamptons and knows everything about the people who live there, including what they did to her family years earlier.
Trailer, via Double Infinity.
A Count of Monte Cristo in the Hamptons
The plot is inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel The Count of Monte Cristo. That is the show’s engine and its ceiling. Emily poses as a new resident in an affluent beachside town to take revenge on the families that wronged her 20 years earlier. One by one, she makes them pay.
The premise is clean. The setting is cleaner. The Hamptons give Revenge a world of money and manners that hides secrets, lies and affairs, and the show knows how to use it.
Emily VanCamp and Madeleine Stowe
VanCamp carries the plan. Madeleine Stowe plays Victoria Grayson, and the two of them are the reason to watch. Their scenes together have the tension of two people who understand each other better than anyone else in the room.
The supporting cast fills out the town. Nick Wechsler is Jack Porter. Gabriel Mann is Nolan Ross. Karine Vanasse is Margaux LeMarchal. James Tupper is David Clarke. Elena Satine is Louise Ellis. Brian Hallisay is Ben Hunter.
When Emily Thorne moves to the Hamptons, everyone wonders about the new girl, but she knows everything about them, including what they did to her family.
ABC’s Wednesday Night Fix
ABC picked up the series for a full season after the pilot pulled a 3.3 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 advertising demographic. It regularly won its time slot in that demo. The first season aired Wednesdays at 10:00 pm Eastern. Seasons two through four moved to Sundays, first at 9:00 pm and then at 10:00 pm.
The numbers made Revenge ABC’s highest-rated series in Wednesday’s 10 pm slot since Lost‘s 2006–2007 season. It was the only new series in more than four years to replicate the 18–49 demo success Lost had in that slot. Stowe was nominated for the 2012 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama. The show was nominated for Favorite New TV Drama at the 2012 People’s Choice Awards.
A Sequel That Never Aired
Revenge concluded on May 10, 2015. On August 4, 2015, ABC announced the possibility of a spin-off. In November 2019, a sequel series with the same title was announced as in the works at ABC. In June 2020, ABC passed on it.
That is a lot of afterlife for a show that told a complete story. The sequel’s failure is not a surprise. Revenge worked because Emily’s list had an end, and the show reached it.
What the Show Gets Right
The first season is the strongest. The plan is tight, the targets are specific, and the show trusts the audience to keep up. Later seasons stretch the premise. Four seasons is a long time to run a con, and the show feels it.
The mystery is the weak part. Revenge is a drama first, and its secrets, lies and affairs are more satisfying than its puzzles. When the show leans on the mystery, it thins out.
The 6.7 score is fair. Revenge is a well-cast, well-dressed drama with a strong hook and a soft middle. VanCamp and Stowe make the whole thing worth the 89 episodes.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.