Courtesy of The Root
“Deception,” a new drama series on NBC that premieres Monday night, is a typical whodunit with an atypical main character. It stars Meagan Good (Think Like a Man, Eve’s Bayou) as Joanna Locasto, a black, female detective who goes undercover to find out who killed her childhood best friend, heiress Vivian Bowers.
As revealed in its pilot preview that has been featured online, the Bowers are an über-wealthy family that appears to have everything most people want: copious amounts of money, fame and good looks. The family, however, is mired in conflict, duplicity, fear and loathing on so many levels that it is only a matter of time before the public facade cracks and the private hell in which they live is exposed.
Joanna had the privilege (and pain) of growing up with the family while her mother worked as a maid at the Bowers’ estate. FBI agent Will Moreno (Laz Alonso) enlists Joanna to help him find out what really happened to Vivian, whose death is being reported as a drug overdose. Joanna initially resists deceiving the family she loves so much, but Will, who is also her former lover, wears her down, setting a plan into motion to get information on the Bowers that will help solve the crime.
The plan sounds simple enough, except that each person in the family has a perfect motive for the crime. Patriarch Robert Bowers (Victor Garber) welcomes Joanna back into the family with open arms, hiding the fact that Vivian was poised to expose a secret that could have ruined the family business.
