“Take Two” on ABC is a likable new series from Terri Edda Miller and Andrew W. Marlowe, late of that network’s “Castle,” which Marlowe created and for which Miller wrote and produced. Briefly put, it is “Castle” on Opposites Day.
Each series is about a crime-fighting pro reluctantly teamed with an enthusiastic goofball amateur. But where “Castle” concerned a male mystery writer solving crimes with a female NYPD detective, “Take Two” is about an actress, who has played a cop on TV, working alongside an L.A. private eye. (Oddly, though “Castle” had Los Angeles stand in for New York City, the L.A.-set “Take Two” is shot in Vancouver. Television!)
I wouldn’t go so far as to say, in the familiar promotional language, “If you loved ‘Castle,’ you’ll love ‘Take Two,'” much of the former show’s appeal being specific to its stars, Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion. But you might.
Rachel Bilson (from “The O.C.” and “Hart of Dixie”) plays Samantha Swift, undone by the one-two punch of a broken engagement and a canceled television series — her claim of 200 episodes of “Hot Suspect” would put its run at something close to a decade — leading to an episode of inebriated public disgrace (“hashtag no underwear, hashtag no dignity, hashtag no memory”). As “Take Two” begins, Sam has emerged from rehab with the promise of a role as a private detective in a prestigious indie film; for research, she attaches herself to Eddie Valetik (Eddie Cibrian, “Rosewood”), who owes her agent a favor.