TV Series Review: Chaser – Season 1 (2024)

This life isn’t perfect. Embrace it. What’s done is undone.

From writer and director Daniel Roemer, comes Chaser. A sci-fi thriller with light comedy moments, that rises above its humdrum opening episode to be an imaginatively wild and fun ride. Starring Gia Bay, Russ Russo, and Daniel de Weldon, it tells a complex story about power and what happens when it is abused.

Eddi Sebastian (Russ Russo) is a loser – in the most conventional way possible. In fact, I’d say his introduction in this show is toe-curling stuff, and his lack of likability is evident from the start. Thankfully, this is kind of the point, as he lacks social skills and pines after a woman who barely notices he exists.

This is Anabel Ruysch (Gia Bay), an actor, and it’s her film footage that Eddi is working as an editor on. In between imagining what it would be like to be with her, and hating her boyfriend, Gar (Daniel de Weldon). Although, in this regard, he might be justified, but that’s not something he, or we as the viewer, know at this early stage.

Under pressure to perform by Gar, humiliated after misunderstanding Anabel’s intentions, and then losing all the footage he was working on, Eddi’s life couldn’t get much worse. Which is right about the moment he is contacted by a mysterious person, one who gives Eddi an incredible power. The power to re-edit the past 24 hours of his life.

Who wouldn’t want that and Eddi quickly discovers how he can use it to become the person he always dreamed of being. However, it comes with major caveats and Eddi’s abuse of the power, creates problems that no amount of re-editing can fix. It’s the kind of power that anyone would want, but what if it fell into the wrong hands?

While Chaser has many dramatic elements, utilising real-life situations and character motivations to push its story forward, it is inherently science fiction based, and is all the better for it. This aspect, plus a deeper connection with the characters, doesn’t just keep the show interesting as it goes on, it makes it more exciting, and fun. The latter of which is not perhaps the first word that comes to mind when you first start watching it.

Thankfully, Daniel Roemer is a talented writer, and you can tell he wanted to get the ‘detail’ out of the way as quickly as possible, so the ride could be enjoyed. This does make for a heavy first episode, but it also serves to set up the major players too.

Let’s talk about the main three characters, because each brings something unique to the show, and in one case, makes it so much better.

Russ Russo’s Eddi is a difficult man to like based solely of his early behaviour that could be called ‘simping’ to some degree. It’s hard to feel sympathetic to him as his awkwardness seems forced and his lack of self-awareness is frustrating. Russ Russo certainly does a good job of portraying this and if the goal was to make you cringe, it certainly works. However, this is a character that grows and because of that, how he is seen come the end, is quite different. It takes good writing and an even better actor to turn a character around like this.

Then we have Gia Bay, whose Anabel character might be the most layered of the bunch. Stuck in the middle of two men, but not beholden to either and more than capable of being her own person. Gia Bay does a phenomenal job with this character, giving her strength and vulnerability in equal measure, and creating someone so likable.

Which brings me to Gar, and Daniel de Weldon’s exceptional performance. A show-stealing performance, even if his character is so detestable. Which, if you know a lot of de Weldon’s work, is par for the course. Maybe it’s just me, but I swear everything I see this man in, he is being a villain in some way or another.

I love to hate him though, and so will you in Chaser. Especially as this is a showcase of his range, way beyond standard bad guy behaviour. Which, at first, seems to be the basic crux of his character, being nothing more than an intimidating and abusive figure. Which, even then, he delivers many moments that light up the screen.

No spoilers, but his arc gets wild, and it does appear as though de Weldon was having a lot of fun with this. This might very well be my favourite role of his to date.

Don’t let my praise for Daniel de Weldon underplay everyone else though, as overall, Chaser features a very strong cast and has some excellent secondary characters and actors portraying them. Likewise, no actor can save bad writing, and no actor can make up for poor direction. That’s testament to Daniel Roemer as a creator.

Chaser is well worth a watch, long enough to get invested in, but short enough to not overstay its welcome. It’s all about its characters, who help tell a story that hooks, but one has plenty of imagination too. Get through the first episode and you’ll be sold. It’s available to stream now on Amazon Prime.