- Title: Blood & Treasure – The Curse of Cleopatra
- IMDb: link
The two-hour series premiere of Blood & Treasure introduces us to former FBI agent turned antiquities expert Danny McNamara (Matt Barr) who is lured back into the field when his mentor (Alicia Coppola) is kidnapped after making a historic find in Egypt. Needing all the help he can get, Danny recruits a world-class thief – his ex-girlfriend Lexi Vaziri (Sofia Pernas). The two-part opener of Blood & Treasure is goofy and could be helped if the show embraced what it is wholeheartedly instead of attempting to straddle a semi-serious line throughout the premiere as the pair bicker and make goo-goo eyes at each other.
The two stars have fun, and there’s enough pseudo-archaeology here to offer a historical angle to the mission as the pair not only search for Dr. Castillo but also the tomb of Marc Antony and Cleopatra (which apparently was discovered by Nazis during WWII in a subplot that spirals a bit out of control). “The Curse of Cleopatra” mixes in the highlights of Danny and Lexi’s relationship and the death of her father by a terrorist (Oded Fehr) who just so happens to be behind the kidnapping of Dr. Castillo. Filling out the cast are John Larroquette as Danny’s bankroll, another of Danny’s ex-girlfriends (Katia Winter) who works for Interpol, and an arms dealer (Michael James Shaw) who unintentionally helps the pair on the quest. I don’t know how long I may stick with the show, and I’m still unsure about the terrorist/Nazi angle (oh, there’s also a secret Roman cult?), but Blood & Treasure does offers a pair of likable leads, nice locales, and some dumb fun that should bring me back for at least another episode.
