Across the Universe: 'Cult' is here

Jeff Sefton is a disgraced former Washington Post journalist who's rebuilding his career in Los Angeles when his brother Nate vanishes. With the help of a production assistant named Skye (Jessica Lucas of "Cloverfield"), Jeff explores his brother's connection to the eerie TV show, which has a rabid and possibly unhinged fan base. Skye has her own reasons for getting close to the show: Her own father vanished a decade earlier while probing a man named Steven Rae, who is now the reclusive and never-seen creator of "Cult."

The gimmick of "Cult" -- the one we're watching -- is that as we watch Jeff and Skye's tale unfold, we're also following the story on the fictional show "Cult" itself, which follows an LAPD detective named Kelly (Alona Tal) who is investigating a cult led by the charismatic yet sinister Billy Grimm (Robert Knepper). Events and objects on the fictional series -- such as a pair of 3-D glasses that reveal key clues -- begin to surface in the "real" world, and it soon becomes apparent that the lines between the two are becoming increasingly blurry.

That's a lot of story to take in, and it's a credit to O'Bannon (who wrote the pilot) and director Jason Ensler that they manage to keep the show's different levels of reality fairly coherent and clear. There are a few exposition dumps here and there (which mainly fall on Lucas' comely shoulders), but the show doesn't get too bogged down in them.

Sefton, formerly of "The Vampire Diaries," is somewhat bland if capable enough, and he does have a deeper moment or two, which we hope to see more of in future episodes. Same with Lucas, whose character needs more fleshing out. Knepper, meanwhile, generates the most force of personality with his few unsettling scenes as the fictional cult leader (and one as the actor portraying him -- yes, the actors also play the "actors" who star in the fictional series).

What O'Bannon is doing is combining the kind of mysterious, vaguely supernatural serial drama that is so prevalent on television today with a darkly satirical look at the kind of fandom these shows often inspire. In one scene, Skye and Jeff visit a bar/Internet café where fans sit engrossed in front of computers, endlessly poring over clues from their favorite series. In another sequence, a group of fans attack and kidnap a network executive who's anxious to get his mitts on "Cult" and meddle with it to attract larger ratings -- is O'Bannon trying to send a message or what?

"Cult" has its genuinely creepy moments (both in the "real" and "fictional" narratives) and does build an atmosphere of paranoia. Its biggest problem is that so much is established in the first hour that the show doesn't generate as much suspense as it could. We're not long into the program before we know that the fictional "Cult" is having some sort of dire influence on its fans, and the unseen Steven Rae (who amusingly pops up with an executive producer credit on the "real" show, too) is obviously the man we want to get to.

As with the other "cult"-themed series that has premiered midseason, FOX's "The Following," we have to wonder how long-term O'Bannon is thinking as his series unfolds. The difficulty with these particular serial dramas is their need to get more and more convoluted as time goes on, simply because if they become hits, they start having to fill up anywhere from 13 to 26 hours a season. How long will it take for Jeff to get to Steven Rae? What is the secret behind Rae's show and its seemingly supernatural grip on its fans? Will it take years to answer those questions?

For now, it's safe to say that the multileveled approach of "Cult" is enough to keep us interested, and the idea of fiction bleeding into reality is a rich one, particularly in the context of a fan culture that obsesses endlessly over every nook and cranny of its favorite programs. "Cult" dares to suggest that this is not exactly a healthy thing to do, even as the show sets itself up to promote the very same sort of fixation.

"Cult" premieres Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the CW.