Limitless: Season One

This small screen spin-off of the titular 2011 sci-fi feature film takes the same premise—a pill called NZT-48 turns ordinary people into geniuses by essentially transforming their brains into supercomputers—and hands it to a new character: amiable slacker and lifetime underachiever Brian Finch (Jake McDorman). The drug ultimately drives its users crazy, but Brian is immune to the side effects, or so the FBI thinks when they hire him as a "consultant." Actually there's a secret antidote that Senator Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper, reprising his role from the movie) gives to Brian in exchange for spying on the feds. The film was a straight-up thriller but the series stirs in plenty of humor as Brian plays the everyman joker in the serious FBI office even when he is in super genius mode. Jennifer Carpenter is his whipsmart FBI handler with a touch of rebellion, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is the division boss, a no-nonsense career officer who clashes with Brian's whimsical personality but has his back. The series begins with a familiar mix of FBI procedural and cheeky class clown comedy but grows more clever in later episodes, playing with shifting perspectives, storytelling twists, and genre parodies. The humor differentiates it from the spate of high-concept crime and conspiracy shows, but it wasn't enough to sustain an audience and the show was cancelled after its first full season, making this of limited interest. Compiling all 22 episodes from the 2015-16 first and only season, extras include an episode commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a gag reel. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)