Chasing Life: An Under-Appreciated TV Series

Last summer the new drama Chasing Life, adapted from the Spanish-language Mexican series Terminales, debuted on ABC Family.

The series focuses on April Carver (series lead Italia Ricci), a 24-year-old aspiring journalist who is trying to work her way up the ladder at a Boston newspaper and deal with her challenging family, including her widowed therapist mother Sara (series regular Mary Page Keller), her younger rebellious sister Brenna (series regular Haley Ramm) and her sweet, gregarious grandmother Emma (recurring guest star Rebecca Schull).

But just as things are starting to turn around at home, at work and in her love life – with a budding new relationship with her co-worker Dominic Russo (series regular Richard Brancatisano) – April collapses during a much-sought-after interview for the newspaper.

It is at this point that April learned from her estranged uncle Dr. George Carver (recurring guest star Steven Weber) that she has leukemia; and her life was forever changed.

Over the course of the show’s first season, April has broken the news, first, to her best friend Beth Kingston (series regular Aisha Dee) and then her family – but keeping the truth from Dominic for far too long; coming to terms with her diagnosis with help from Uncle George, who repaired his relationship with the family and her primary Dr. Susan Hamburg (recurring guest star Merrin Dungey); making it back to her position at the newspaper (but with lingering health issues) and falling in love with fellow cancer patient Leo Hendrie (recurring guest star Scott Michael Foster), who is the son of a famous politician.

In the season finale of Chasing Life that aired this past March, Leo asked April to marry him and she accepted despite learning that she is no longer in remission and that her condition is even more critical than expected.

With the show set to return for its second season next week at 9/8 (its newly announced timeslot), fans of the show – few though they are – are probably chomping at the bit to know what will happen next. And that is what I want to focus on: how few TV viewers actually watch this moving, gripping show.

Yes, the subject matter is hard: cancer is no walk in the park and the show does a great job of being as realistic as possible, not short-cutting the hardships felt by the patients and their families. Over the course of the first season I know I have come to care for these characters in this show and care what happens; and that’s a sign of good writing and great acting. It’s just a shame that so few people actually sit down and watch the show.

That is why I consider Chasing Life one of the best new shows on TV and one of the most under-appreciated series on the air at this time. I sure hope that more people will jump on board, giving the show a chance just like ABC Family has given it a chance with a second season order.

Do you have a TV show over the last season or so that you feel has gone under-appreciated by TV viewers? Please share your thoughts below; and make sure, if you don’t watch Chasing Life already, to watch the show next Tuesday.