Follow TV Tropes

Following

Series / The Catch

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_catch_poster_key_art_exclusive.jpg
The Catch. Ready to fight.

The Catch is an American crime drama show airing on ABC, created by Kate Atkinson (Case Histories), Jennifer Schuur (Hannibal, Big Love, Hellcats), and Helen Gregory, developed by Allan Heinberg (Young Avengers, Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal...), and executive produced by Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, etc.). Best described as a heist-Mystery Fiction, the show mainly focuses on two factions: a team of Private Investigators, and a team of Con Artists.

The end of the first episode reveals that one of the lead PIs was romantically linked with one of the con artists, which complicates things.

It has also been very popular, to the extent people wanted to know more about the show. In spite of this it was cancelled after its second season in 2017.

Tropes applicable to the show include:

  • Affably Evil: The Benefactor, more or less, turns out to be this. He may be a ruthless crime leader, but he holds no grudge over being held at gunpoint by Alice and even tries to help her and Benjamin escape. Sadly, it doesn't work out, but that's through no fault of his.
    • Margot becomes this in Season 2.
  • Anti-Hero / Anti-Villain: As in most Shonda Rhimes shows, most of the cast are morally grey. Maybe as much so as Grey's Anatomy.
  • Big Bad: The Benefactor is set up to be one. Subverted, as the real Big Bad turns out to be his mother, and his sister ends up taking over from her when she's arrested.
    • Subverted again when Rhys and Margot end up joining the heroes.
  • Black-and-Grey Morality: There are some genuinely villainous characters in the show, but the heroes are willing to bend the rules to achieve their goals.
    • Switches around as the villains shift to becoming Antihero characters while the heroes remain good.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: All of the members of the Kensington family are this as they're an oddball collection of London Gangster con artists as well as killers. It even applies to Ben and Margot's fifteen year old daughter Tessa..
  • …But He Sounds Handsome: Inverted. "Christopher" describes his criminal identity Mr. X as untrustworthy and deceitful.
  • Con Artist: Given the premise of the show, this is justified to some extent.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Margot previously served some people who appear to be very dangerous, and is not yet free from her obligations to them.
  • Depraved Bisexual: Both Felicity and The Benefactor are this, the latter moreso since he isn't afraid to kill anyone who gets in his way. Margot as well.
  • Fake Guest Star: Gina Torres as Justine Diaz in season two. She appeared in every episode, but was always credited as a guest star.
  • Fanservice: Surprisingly, this has a fair amount for a network show. When Margot and Felicity go to bed together, we see quite a lot of leg.
  • Fille Fatale: Tessa is a fifteen year old girl who ticks all these boxes. Because she's Margot and Ben's daughter.
  • Friendly Enemy: Margot and Rhys keep this status until they just become friendly period.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Margot seems to be aware that something is going on between Benjamin and Alice, and obviously isn't happy about it. Danny, who has a crush on Sophie, also isn't particularly thrilled by the fact that she seems to be warming up to Shawn.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Both Rhys and Margot go from being the show's Big Bad Ensemble to co-stars on the heroes' side. This is, according to Word of God, in no small part due to John Simms and Sonya Walger's fan favorite status.
  • He-Man Woman Hater: The leader of the syndicate Margot used to belong to who was actually her father seems to be quite the misogynist. She was next in line to replace him, but does not believe she would ever have been allowed to do so, which appears to be the reason she left.
    • Averted as it turns out it was more Margot's Unreliable Narrator status as her mother took over after just fine. Given she turned out to have been a teenager at the time she left, it's also clear she may have had a bit of an entitlement issue. An issue mirrored by her daughter when she tries to take over at age fifteen.
  • Lighter and Softer: Thus far, the tone of this show has been much more light-hearted than that of Scandal or How to Get Away with Murder. However, Word of Dante is that the show isn't that way.
    • Heavily subverted after the Retool for the second season where the story goes from being a crime drama to a much more comedic Dramedy. Tropes Are Not Bad turns out to be this case, however, as both critics as well as audiences agree the show has improved as a result.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Aside from the protagonist, Alice Vaughan, obviously, Margot, Princess Zara Al-Salim, Holly, Rita and Robin all count as this, although only the first three get any Character Development; the other two are minor characters/
  • No Woman's Land: Princess Zara's country, a thinly veiled expy of Saudi Arabia, is clearly indicated to be an example of this.
  • Private Investigator: Alice Vaughn, the protagonist, is one.
  • Retcon: Felicity is revealed to be alive after being shot in the heart. This is believed by many to roll back Rhys's Moral Event Horizon from Season 1.
  • Retool: Goes from being a How to Get Away with Murder crime drama to being a Denser and Wackier show about con artists and private detectives teaming up against bad guys in Season 2.
  • Retraux: The show's title font is this - it's actually the font from Inception.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Again, Princess Zara.
    • Mystery of the Week: One plot each week usually focuses on a client of Vaughan and Associates.
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Season 2 begins with Alice's business in trouble as naturally people are concerned about hiring a private security firm when the boss fell for a con artist and the FBI investigated the place.
    • The Caper: Another plot each week usually focuses on a con being run by Benjamin and Margot.

Top