The latest from “The Originals” creator Julie Plec, “Containment” is based on a Belgian series created by Carl Joos and follows what happens after a mysterious and deadly epidemic breaks out in Atlanta. A vast urban quarantine is quickly enforced, forcing those stuck on the inside to fight for their lives while local and federal officials desperately search for a cure.
The new series stars Claudia Black (“The Originals”), David Gyasi (“Interstellar”), Christina Moses (“Starship: Rising”), Chris Wood (“The Vampire Diaries”), Kristen Gutoskie (“Beaver Falls”), George Young (“Casualty”), Hanna Mangan Lawrence (“Spartacus: War of the Damned”), and Trevor St. John (“One Life to Live”).
... Why CW had to go all the way to Belgium to come up with something this formulaic is unclear.
... The answers aren't great — they amount to hemming and hawing — but at least the questions are asked. Undemanding viewers (not a judgment) may find "Containment" diverting nonetheless. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... may not be the CW’s answer to “Downton Abbey,” but it’s a very well-made, well-written and well-acted thriller that will keep you guessing about everything except for the quality of the series. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... pretty paint-by-number for viewers accustomed to the heightened stakes and less predictable drama of "The Walking Dead." … Granted, "The Walking Dead" has managed to sustain the premise, but the first two episodes of "Containment" don't offer a lot of confidence that this CW series can do the same.
... a series without interesting characters, story or a modicum of tension. …
... Plagued by mediocre writing and stubbornly dull acting, this unpleasant misfire feels like slow death as it spins out subplots from Disaster Movie 101. …
... both too familiar and too tiring. And like so many stories on TV these days, too long. …
... an occasionally terrifying, mostly formulaic tribute to the primal unease that comes from watching somebody coughing up blood. …
... CW has enjoyed such an admirable run with its recent development that the network was probably overdue for a genuine clunker. And it gets one, big-time, with “Containment,” a thoroughly uninspired drama about a pandemic …
9 p.m. Tuesday. The CW.
