Professionals - What We Know So Far
Since its 2006 re-branding, The CW has become a fairly legit player in the network television landscape — one whose path to "fifth major network" status was largely staked on the success of beloved teen dramas like "Gilmore Girls," and cult hit fantasy programs like "Supernatural." These days, The CW is also at the forefront of the network comic book and superhero game, boasting hits in the likes of "Riverdale," as well as an entire slate of shows known collectively as the Arrowverse, fronting numerous heroes from the DC Comics stable. That's hardly surprising, though, seeing as one of the network's earliest successes was, in fact, the whole "Superman before he became Superman" saga known as "Smallville."
If you consider yourself a fan of The CW's general aesthetic, you'll likely be ecstatic to learn the network has just picked up the U.S. broadcast rights to an action-packed new drama series starring the very actor who delivered some its most consistent ratings on "Smallville," in fact. That series is called "Professionals," and it's soon to join the ranks of The CW's modern hits.
Here's everything we about "Professionals" so far.
When will Professionals be released?
Now, assuming that your interest has already been piqued, you might be wondering just when this new action spectacular will be making its way to The CW. Unfortunately, at this point in time, we don't yet know when the Season 1 premiere of "Professionals" will be making its debut. That's because The CW has only recently purchased the rights to the show (per TV Line), and has yet to pencil it into their broadcast schedule. The good news is, the first season of "Professionals" has already been shot and is ready to go whenever The CW bosses want, with cast and crew completing production in late 2019, so it's definitely coming.
Since the series' wrapped, its backers have reportedly been shopping it around looking for the right network fit, and they have finally found a home on The CW. As mentioned, we're still waiting to learn when the network will unleash "Professionals" on the world, but rest assured, we'll let you know when the series' premiere date becomes official.
Who is starring in Professionals?
To circle back to that former "Smallville" star who is set to front "Professionals" on The CW — yes, it is indeed Mr. Tom Welling.
The actor, of course, portrayed the pre-Superman Clark Kent on "Smallville" for 10 full seasons before the show left the airwaves in 2011. The role of Clark remains his best-known to date, and Welling even recently reprised it for a cameo on The CW's Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths." Welling is no doubt happy to be back with The CW for "Professionals," and is clearly eying another hit for the network.
Welling will be joined in "Professionals" by Brendan Fraser, who's currently enmeshed in a career renaissance after spending a few years largely out of the Hollywood spotlight. While "Professionals" obviously doesn't carry the same prestige as the HBO Max cult favorite "Doom Patrol," or Steven Soderbergh's "No Sudden Move" — or his upcoming pictures with Darren Aronofsky ("The Whale") and Martin Scorsese ("Killers of the Flower Moon"), for that matter — it's obviously great to see Fraser back in action in any project. As it happens, Welling and Fraser will be joined in the new series by another actor with DC Comics cred in Elena Anaya, who appeared as the nefarious Dr. Maru in 2017's "Wonder Woman." Rounding out the cast of "Professionals" will be actors Stevel Marc, Ken Duken, Jazzara Jaslyn, Lisa Loven Kongsli, and August Wittgenstein.
What is Professionals about?
As for what that talented crew will be doing in "Professionals," per the TV Line piece, the new series finds Welling portraying Vincent Korbo, a former special ops ace turned freelance security specialist who's protects the interests of his clients by any means necessary. That includes Fraser's billionaire futurist, Peter Swann, who hires Welling's team upon discovering foul play may be behind one of his biggest projects going bust in spectacular fashion. Complicating the duo's working relationship is Ayana's Dr. Grace Davila, a medical genius who is currently engaged to Swann, but used to be involved with Korbo.
There's lots of tension working within that trio, as the trailer for "Professionals" has made clear. You might notice the series is boasting a distinctly action-packed 80s-90s buddy flick vibe, with Welling and Fraser trading jabs amid some "Bad Boys" meets "The A-Team" styled action — all of which is fueled by the pair's discovery of a vast international conspiracy far beyond anything they could've imagined.
Call us crazy, but "Professionals" looks like loads of fun, and this show should be well worth a look when it finally makes its way to The CW.