User reviews

I won't pretend to be cutesy like some reviewers. I am just a viewer who likes the show. I love the entire cast, and while the story lines are often improbable (What new plot is left to portray in crime dramas? Nada) I enjoy the interaction of the characters, and the way they are portrayed. Frankly I am sick and tired of seeing gay people played as mincing queens by being wannabe Divine's. Cumming's and Ing's relationship comes across as genuine and caring, and with affection. I'm straight & have three gay nephews, two with husbands, and I am tired of seeing their lifestyle trivialized by writers and directors who think Modern Family (I hate the show) is the model. Maybe that I am so happy to see a non-exploitative portrayal I look past the writing weaknesses. But I will continue to watch the series and hope the writers/directors do better.

Alan Cummings plays a former CIA agent now turned successful author and professor named Dr. Dylan Reinhart whose publisher Joan Ross (Whoopi Goldberg) tells Dylan that his most recent storyline is missing the magic that was present in his first book. Joan suggests to Dylan that he needs to become active in the field again to regain his lost writers mojo.

So Dylan agrees to tag team with a young and pretty blonde detective named Lizzie Needham (Bojana Novakovic) and their on screen tag team magic is quite evident from the get go. Detective Lizzie Needham and scholar/writer Dylan Reinhart feed off of each other in solving this the pilot episodes first murders. This particular serial killer murders each victim and at the murder scene the killer leaves one (1) of the fifty-two (52) poker playing cards to which Detective Needham and Dylan have to figure out the cards clue in solving the next murder before it happens

The TV series writers did more than an adequate job of keeping their audience in suspense and the on screen chemistry between actors Alan Cummings and Bojana Novakovic was very entertaining. This new series has some good momentum with this the pilot episode and I trust the series writers will provide new material each week to sustain and maintain a new audience.

I give the series an excellent 8 out of 10 rating and look forward to seeing more of the same.

Lots of similarities to castle. likable characters and good plots. alan cummings owns it as always. binge watched the first season and cant wait for season 2. definitely an above average show. well worth a look.

Why all this hate ? I'm reading very bad reviews about this new series and I do not understand it at all. The acting, writing and filming are abundantly over average. I mean, if you're looking for fun and relaxation, a touch of irony and "old school" procedural, this is your kind of show, like Rizzoli & Isles, or The mentalist or Perception.I don't mention Castle purposely,because it has already been enough involved, but I think that kind of chemistry is very rare and unpredictable

Instinct was an enjoyable series with mild stories, good acting and an average flow. It lacked thrill and suspense, was taking itself a little too seriously and distracting itself from main goals with various light and (unneeded) sub-plots. For once, I wasn't surprised that it got cancelled as it basically was dragging episode after episode with nothing really concrete ahead thrill and crime-wise. IMO, It lacked invigorating darkness, had a big cheesy & cliche package and too many light moments. Of course, opinions differ.

Although, the network could have shown season 2_episodes 12 and 13, which most probably had been filmed and could have provided the audience with the courtesy of finishing the season with complete episodes, instead of a mumbo ending.

Unfortunately, that only shows complete lack of respect for the viewers.

I think watches of Castle, The Mentalist or White Collar would enjoy this. I enjoyed the premise of the pilot and liked the dynamic between the two main characters. Looking forward to more episodes, I feel the other bad reviews are overly critical.

Castle 2.0? Yeah probably, but still quite watchable. Characters start to flesh out after a few episodes.

Alan Cumming & Bojana Novakovic have good chemistry and the plots are different enough to be interesting.

Not nearly as dreadful as many are saying here, maybe stop picking holes in everything and try enjoying stuff.

After the first episode which reminds me a bit about Castle . Took a slightly different direction in a good way. The 2 main characters will interesting to see how they will evolve. What I ask for a T.V. Series is to entertain me and not be stupid and boring and this this is entertaining. Looking forward to see more.

I want this to work - badly! I love Alan Cumming, and anyone can see he's doing his best, but the both the writing and direction is so predictable, I wince. True, there are a plot twists, but the dialogue is awful! It's just awful!

The cast deserves better. Jim Patterson's work deserves better.

Personally I disagree with the majority of reviewers comments about this series..... The series had some excellent characters and the two main characters were good together, with good supporting co actors.

There was a mix of ages in the cast (Some reviewers claimed there was not, but there were, if one looked)..... The story lines were fresh and one of the things I personally liked was the fact it did not rely on constant bad language and over show of violence.... the personal tales ... showed compassion and covered story lines that would have grown with another serial..... All new shows take a while to develop and it's often forgotten by programme producers ... that their audiences are of a mixed age group and tastes ....this should be the important decision when deciding the future of a programme. .... Sorry that there will not another serial 3.... I for one thought it was enjoyable.

Formulaic to the max. But easy to watch and enjoyable enough. Just don't take it seriously.

This could have been amazing if it was written by a writer as good as those on The Good Wife. That, and if they'd hired an actress as lead who can actually act. She is painfully awful. I don't ever review things, but she drove me to it with tonight's episode. In addition, it's another show where the "ace detective" is approximately 25-26 years old, which I find ridiculous. There's not even any "veteran" officers in her department, and the captain is damn young, too. All of that would have been easy to dismiss if the show weren't written so poorly, and had used Alan Cumming in a way that best showcases his talent. This puerile nonsense is breathtakingly awful, and she gets worse and more wooden by the episode.

This show has many way better precedents before it.. name a few: monk, the psyche, mentalist, the bones, castle etc..

i started watching it for alan cumming.. he is failing the show.. this role is not for him.. he was really cool for eli cohen in the good wife but in this role he is weak..

also some of the storyline is illogical.. also casting is weird, the actor playing alan cummings father maybe 10 years older than him..

dont waste time on this one..

I'm late to the party and only 4 episodes in, but I will watch the entire season, as long as they keep putting Alan Cumming in practically every scene. He is so charming, and the relationship with his partner is so adorable, that I don't care that the cases are bland and the writing weak. I hope the show will grow to better match it's star's abilities, but even if it doesn't, it will be worth watching, just for Mr. Cummings.

Alan Cumming (Eli Gold on The Good Wife) plays a Dan Brown like character, a symbologist/psychologist who teams up with a chirpy female police detective to track down a serial killer (pilot). The dialog is witty; the acting brisk and convincing. It's a fun series well worth a look!

I really like the plots and found it really funny and enjoyable. I hope they don't get rid of the humor: life is stressful and I need to laugh!I never would have thought of Alan playing this character but he pulls it off really well. I like that his character is gay and compartmentalizes because of how he was raised. I could relate to that.

His friend at the cia and whoopi is also great as always.The writers needs to have fun with the blonde detective and make her a little less robotic and relaxed because the way she is written is super annoying and one dimensional.

Yes it is terrible in so many ways....but....I can't help loving it....It's Allan Cumming's revenge....He's taking the piss . When he gets some good lines ...few and far between ...he magnetizes you to the screen....what a show it would be with some ORIGINAL storylines....

I was looking forward to this and found it very disappointing. With Alan Cumming I was expecting something smart, intelligent and witty. Instead it is full of predictable formulae, an inappropriate, unbelievable in the part, female lead and cliches that I have seen hundreds of times in hundreds of network programs exactly like this. Instead of a really cool new series, it's the usual American drek.

First review! Hopefully everyone can appreciate Alan Cummings' personality showing through his acting...especially his monologue and the ability for fast dialogue! :)

Remove the "comedy" and it will a be a great series. I like serious detective dramas.

. . . formulaic. Oddly unpleasant even as I acknowledge the players are all adept, the cinematography crisp and lovely, the quips flying. But no matter . . . it's all flat, heartless and the very essence of disingenuousness. Weird timing. I love the genre, and so kept coming back to give it another chance, but no, I deeply deeply dislike being manipulated and that's what this feels like. It's a definite no for me.

Interestingly, this is exactly how I feel about Patterson's writing, so when I saw that 'Instinct' is based on his work it was an 'aha!' moment for me.