The WB's "Jack & Bobby" is about two brothers, one of whom grows up to be president of the United States. But it is not about the Kennedys.
It is one of the year's most intriguing, involving and promising TV premieres. (The series debuts Sunday at 8 p.m. on Ch. 30.) The big question is whether succeeding episodes can build on that promise.
Jack McCallister (Matthew Long) is sort of the all-American boy. A smart, popular, athletic high schooler who seems destined for great things.
Bobby McCallister (Logan Lerman) is sort of a geeky kid. Incredibly bright and not particularly popular, he idolizes his older brother. And Jack looks out for him.
One of them will be president. One of them will be dead by the time the other is president.
You'll find out which is which before Sunday's premiere ends, but I won't spoil it by giving it away here.
Essentially, this is just the latest in the WB's long line of hourlong dramas about teen angst — with the added dimension that one of these teenagers is going to end up being the leader of the free world.
It's a heck of an idea that Greg Berlanti (creator/executive producer of the made-in-Utah "Everwood"), Vanessa Taylor, Steve Cohen and Brad Meltzer have come up with. And the first hour is exceptional.
And don't get the idea that this is a show just about and for kids. Perhaps the pivotal character in "Jack & Bobby" is their mother, Grace (Christine Lahti), a forceful, independent, driven, yet vulnerable woman.
Lahti is nothing short of compelling as Grace, a brilliant college professor whose life revolves around her sons. Not that that's always such a good thing, as her elder son tries to make her understand.
Jack is determined to break away from his mother's iron grip and make her see that Bobby needs to become more independent — or at least a bit less unorthodox.
Framing all of this is a "documentary" shot more than four decades in the future — interviews with historians, members of the McCallister administration and the first lady after the end of his second term. It's a way to look at present-day events as they formed the life and character of the future president.
"To me, the show is really about watching this child become the visionary that he becomes through all of the things that either help him or actually hinder him," said executive producer Tommy Schlamme ("The West Wing").
"It seemed like we were setting up sort of a starting point for the series and a finish line for the series," Berlanti said. "What we always sort of said was — wouldn't it be cool if we could just show in the series the first letter of the sentence and the punctuation mark at the end, and that the series itself is sort of everything that happens in between?"
Part of what makes the first hour so involving is that you're not sure which of the brothers will become president. And you've got to wonder if something won't be lost once that question is answered.
"It's a distinct challenge in that I think you kind of clearly paint yourself into certain corners," Berlanti said. "And as we go forward with other episodes, and we begin to map out the mythology of the McCallister presidency in the future, and what it holds for all of us, it's definitely a challenge."
If anybody is up to it, however, it's Berlanti and his team. This is a well-cast show with a great deal of talent behind the cameras as well.
There's no guarantee it's going to work on a weekly basis, but you can say the same thing about any TV series. "Jack & Bobby" is considerably more ambitious than your average teen drama, but it would be a good teen drama even if we had no clue what the future holds for the characters.
"You get so caught up in the story of the moment and the time period that you'll become sort of, hopefully, engaged in it," Berlanti said. "We get to pick and choose when to re-mind the audience that, oh my gosh, that's that person's fate."
This is a show definitely worth keeping an eye on.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com