‘Emerald City’ lures us into a dark, magical world of a story we all know and encases it in mystery and welcome revamps. This isn’t ‘The Wizard of Oz’; this is something else entirely.

The Show: Emerald City

The Network: NBC

The Genre: Fantasy, Drama

The Challenge: Give a show four episodes with which to draw you in, impress you, challenge you, make you feel something deeply. Four episodes for the chance to find out if you care what happens to the characters you’re watching enough to become invested in the story. If after all that, it does none of those things for you? Then no biggie. You gave it a good shot and you can move on. But if you love it, you’ll be glad you stuck around.

The Premise: Created by Matthew Arnold and Josh Friedman, ‘Emerald City’ is a modern-day, diesel-fuelled adaptation of the material that propelled Frank L. Baum to fame. Dorothy Gale (Adria Arjona) is a strong-willed, fiery nurse who finds herself swept up in a tornado. Transported to the Land of Oz, she encounters an amnesiac soldier, Lucas (Oliver Jackson-Cohen). Soon, she finds herself hunted by the Wizard’s Guard. Meanwhile, there’s a push-pull of power between the realms of science and magic behind-the-scenes in Oz. Things are not as jolly as the musical makes it seem—and that soon becomes scarily apparent. ‘Emerald City’ also stars Vincent D’Onofrio, Ana Ularu, Isabel Lucas, Jordan Loughran, Gerran Howell and Roxy Sternberg.

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You’ll know the film, but you’ll be swept up by the series—quite like spinning around in that tornado…

Dorothy Gale should be able to relate. The notion of anticipating what is to come for our heroine is a dangerous trap to fall into. There are throwbacks to the film itself—for example, Lucas the amnesiac is found hanging like a scarecrow when Dorothy first meets him. Jack’s surgery renders him without a human heart. Tip’s storyline treads thinly on the ice of Princess Ozma. But look across to the ‘Wicked’ Witch of the West and you’ll find there’s no green-skinned cackle. Rather, there is an opium-smoking Ana Ularu, who sneakily steals near every scene she’s in with her confident, slack drawl.

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Kudos to the creators, for Arnold and Friedman have created something that is entirely new. This isn’t an adaptation of ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Nor does it fall at the hurdle most fantasy shows of this genre cripple themselves at.

Most notably, the cast feel fresh and new. Jackson-Cohen’s Lucas has the potential to be a monotone soldier with a tragic history but there’s a wry wit to our mysterious ex-Wizard’s Guard. Vincent D’Onofrio injects life into his depiction of the Wizard, seemingly immoral; mainly human. In a storyline that looks to be heavily reliant on two young actors, Gerran Howell and Jordan Loughran more than hold up their stipend as Jack and Tip. Both characters have severed through hell and back. It takes quite some skill to cast such suited young actors for the roles, but ‘Emerald City’ excels here. Howell in particular shines in episode four, when Jack is given some seriously tough material and Loughran, in the same episode, sticks her chin up at the heavy presences of Ularu and Joely Richardson (Glinda).

We’ve got an all-star, if not too-well-known supporting cast—but it’s really the leading lady who nabs it.

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If you’re not gonna be Judy Garland (we wouldn’t recommend it)—be Adria Arjona.

Dorothy Gale is not just a role: it’s a cultural statement. An icon. We all know Dorothy as the innocent, honey-sweet girl but Adria Arjona lends a hand into punching through that wall. It goes with the terrain. ‘Emerald City’ is a far stretch from the colourful and chipper adventure ‘The Wizard of Oz’ took all of us through. But you won’t see any men dressed up as lions, and nor will you see Dorothy skipping down a yellow brick road. For one, it’s not even made up of yellow bricks.

Arjona seizes the role of Dorothy Gale and smacks some initiative in there. Arjona’s Dorothy isn’t there to be told what to do; nor is she there to be limited by Lucas’ frequent growls of “we need to move”. She’s got medical training and a hand-gun. She has compassion and a big heart. But equally, and importantly, she possesses a necessary ability to kick some ass.

If ‘Emerald City’ was not to be a copy of the film, then Dorothy Gale wouldn’t be either. We haven’t come across any emeralds as of yet, but we’ve sure found a gem in Adria Arjona. Perhaps we shouldn’t pin such weight on the leading lady, but Arjona’s grit and natural compatibility with any person she encounters is massively relied upon. With so many storylines, Dorothy doesn’t hold up the show—but she sure makes it a breeze to watch.

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There’s a tug-of-war occurring behind-the-scenes, as The Beast Forever looms.

Within each episode, someone will mention ‘The Beast Forever’ and Oz’s impending doom. There’s a heightened sense of mystery every time that happens, but frankly, we’re more interested in everything else that’s spinning around this big bad villain.

Firstly, there’s a huge splinter in morals and beliefs between the Witch sisters. Richardson’s pristine Glinda is not something to go amiss. It’s as if everything’s aligned too well. Her smile is wide, yet it doesn’t reach her eyes. Are there such extreme parameters of good and evil? Between Glinda and West? West is certainly less polished, and she’s likely self-serving—but she doesn’t force herself upon Tip, for example. She isn’t Satan unleashed. Quite like Tip, we’re left with a dilemma in choosing between these two sisters with agendas still behind their backs.

Furthermore, there lies the debate of science and magic in The Wizard. D’Onofrio portrays a very human man in a very odd world. And he’s had time to adjust to it. He’s had time to absorb the power thrust upon him, and has thus created a very warped, almost tyrannical empire. Yet he cannot sway from emotion, shown in his scenes with Ana. It puts forward a question: given time, when he and Dorothy inevitably clash, what will happen when she realises he’s just like her? Does magic exist solely in Oz, or can it in Kansas? If an iPod is magic in Oz, then how would Dorothy’s world react to Glinda’s magic, for example? If the citizens of Oz are flesh and blood, what differentiates them from us—except belief?

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It’s not just about distancing itself from the film; ‘Emerald City’ builds a world that we slowly adjust to, and expands at just the right pace to be gripping stuff.

With fantasy shows, you have to drag your viewer into your world for an hour and make them believe. Shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Westworld’ have excelled in this field for that precise reason. For an hour, you’re utterly absorbed in Westeros, or indeed Westworld. The scope of land-building is essential to original shows like this, and ‘Emerald City’ had the additional challenge of building a fresh Oz with viewers’ minds still stuck nostalgically to the film.

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It isn’t HBO magic, but it’s darn good. ‘Emerald City’ shot off with a double-bill premiere and whilst it didn’t offer much scope for world-building, it gave us room to clamber into Dorothy’s heart and nestle there. Cocooned safely, we swam through episode three until episode four lambasted us with expanded kingdoms. Jack perhaps stole the show with his horrific transformation into, quite literally, the Tin Man.

With shots like Tip’s, when she’s on the bridge contemplating jumping off, you can’t help but exhale at the scene, satisfied. The setting for Glinda’s orphanage is precisely white. You can’t get much whiter. The frosty woods and dirty living standards are key to nailing the world ‘Emerald City’ is trying to preach to us. This is not a grin-wide, MGM film. This is the world Dorothy Gale’s fallen into.

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Final Verdict: ‘Emerald City’ isn’t perfect, but it’s shot up there with one of the most surprising and encapsulating first four episodes we’ve seen. An unexpected jettison into the unknown, ‘Emerald City’ isn’t one to fob off—rather, you should keep your eyes peeled.

Matthew Arnold and Josh Friedman have drummed up the magical tonic to something missing in January’s premiere window. Gritty, dark, yet glowing with promise and wit, ‘Emerald City’ has all the ingredients for an intoxicating show. It’s got a booming, talented cast. It has a huge collection of material to draw from, and new worlds to explore. As Arnold and Friedman have shown with Ev, they’re unafraid to do so. With Jack and Tip, and Dorothy herself, they’ve shown they’re not scared of trashing through legend and rebirthing those characters into something else entirely.

And that’s a good thing.

If we wanted an adaptation of the film, we’d probably watch the film. If we wanted a mediocre fantasy drama with not much substance at all, there are still options. But ‘Emerald City’ balances the intrigue of what we know, and teases us with what we don’t. It’s that tantalising ‘what if’ and the convincing sway of power that draws us in. The charming performances of its primary cast make it impossible to leave.

We’re staying in Oz for a while.

Catch episodes of ‘Emerald City’ on Fridays, 9l8c, Network: NBC.