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National Treasure: Edge of History
2022 American action-adventure television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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National Treasure: Edge of History is an American action-adventure television series developed for and globally released on the streaming service Disney+. It is based on, and a continuation of, the National Treasure film series. It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and ABC Signature.[1] The series stars Lisette Olivera, with Catherine Zeta-Jones as the apparent lead antagonist, and with Justin Bartha reprising his role from the films as a recurring character, while Harvey Keitel appears in the beginning, also reprising his film role. Mira Nair directed the pilot episode. The show primarily filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and premiered on December 14, 2022.[2]
National Treasure: Edge of History received generally mixed reviews from critics. It was among the ten most-streamed original programs in the U.S. from its first week, before it reached the top 5 in its later weeks. In April 2023, the series was canceled after one season.[3]
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Cast
Main
- Lisette Olivera as Jess Valenzuela,[4] a young DACA woman living in Baton Rouge who finds out that her dead father is part of a secret network of treasure protectors; later Liam's love interest.
- Zuri Reed as Tasha Rivers,[4] Jess' roommate and best friend.
- Antonio Cipriano as Oren Bradley,[4] another friend, roommate of Ethan, and sneakerhead; Tasha's on-and-off boyfriend
- Jordan Rodrigues as Ethan Chao,[5] Jess' oldest friend who has feelings for her; Oren's roommate
- Jake Austin Walker as Liam Sadusky,[4] musician and bar worker, Peter Sadusky's grandson; later Jess's love interest
- Catherine Zeta-Jones as Billie Pearce,[6] a wealthy and ruthless black market antiquities dealer
- Lyndon Smith as Agent Ross, an FBI agent who recently transferred to the Bureau's Baton Rouge field office. It is later revealed her full name is Hannah Betsy Ross.[6]
Special guest stars
- Harvey Keitel as Peter Sadusky, a reclusive former FBI agent and master Freemason suffering from dementia. Keitel played the same character in the National Treasure film series.
- Justin Bartha as Riley Poole, a computer expert and good friend of Ben Gates from both films.
Recurring
- Breeda Wool as Kacey, one of Billie's mercenaries
- Dustin Ingram as Myles, Peter's former nurse
- Salena Qureshi as Meena Mishra, Ethan's love interest
- Darri Ingolfsson as Dario, another one of Billie's mercenaries
- Armando Riesco as Agent Hendricks, Agent Ross's boss and Peter Sadusky's former partner and friend. Riesco reprises his role from the film series.
- Tommy Savas as Dr. Zeke Hudson, a coroner at the city morgue who is interested in Agent Ross romantically
- Joseph D. Reitman as The Bearded Man, a man who follows Jess and her friends
- Jacob Vargas as Rafael, Jess's father
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Episodes
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Production
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Development
In early May 2020, Jerry Bruckheimer revealed in an interview with Collider that a National Treasure television series was in the works for Disney+. The series would follow the same concept as the films with a younger cast. The script for the pilot was completed, with plotting for the story continued for the rest of the episodes.[8] In March 2021, Disney officially greenlit the series.[9] The title of the show was revealed in July 2022, ahead of its panel at San Diego Comic-Con.[10][11]
Casting
In October 2021, Lisette Olivera, a Latina actress from L.A. previously acting under the name Lisette Alexís, was cast in the lead role.[12] In January 2022, Zuri Reed, Jake Austin Walker, Antonio Cipriano, Jordan Rodrigues and Lyndon Smith were added to the cast,[13] with Catherine Zeta-Jones joining the next month.[14] In April 2022, Justin Bartha joined the series as a recurring guest star to reprise his role from the films.[15] On July 21, 2022, during San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that Harvey Keitel would also be reprising his role, as Peter Sadusky, the lead FBI agent from the first two movies.[16]
Filming
Principal photography began on February 12, 2022, in Baton Rouge.[12][17][18] Filming moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in late June.[19]
Music
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Release
The trailer of National Treasure: Edge of History was released in September 2022.[21] The series premiered December 14, 2022, on Disney+, with its first two episodes available immediately.[22] It consists of ten episodes, with each one released weekly on Wednesdays, culminating in the finale on February 8, 2023.[23] On April 21, 2023, Disney+ canceled the series after one season.[24]
Reception
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Viewership
According to market research company Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, National Treasure: Edge of History saw a significant increase in demand, rising to eighth place among the most in-demand new shows for the week of January 14-20, 2023, with 16.5 times the average series demand. This marked a 29% increase from the previous week, following the airing of its seventh episode on January 18.[25] It later saw a 5% increase in demand from January 31 to February 3, 2023. The series climbed to sixth place in the rankings, with demand 16 times higher than the average series. This boost in demand occurred following the release of its penultimate episode on February 1. As the series approached its finale, further increases in demand were anticipated.[26] Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the more than 21 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, calculated that National Treasure: Edge of History ranked as the tenth most streamed original television series in the U.S. during the week of December 18 and rose to ninth during the week of December 25, 2022.[27][28] It returned to tenth place during the weeks of January 1 and January 8, 2023.[29][30] The series climbed to seventh by January 15 and moved up to fourth during the week of January 22.[31][32] National Treasure: Edge of History dropped to fifth by January 29.[33][34] It later settled back at seventh during the week of February 12.[35] Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, estimated that series was watched for 294 million minutes from January 16-22, 2023.[36][37]
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 38% based on 21 critic reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Treating the franchise's past with an overweening reverence while padding out its new cast with cloying sidekicks, this National Treasure spinoff tumbles over the edge of satisfaction."[38] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 46 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[39]
Kayleigh Donaldson of TheWrap said the series is a nostalgic throwback to action-adventure TV with a familiar but entertaining tone. She thought the show effectively captured the lighthearted spirit of the original films, despite the absence of Nicolas Cage. Donaldson praised Lisette Olivera’s performance as Jess and highlighted Catherine Zeta-Jones’ stylish portrayal of a villain, saying it brought energy to an otherwise well-worn plot. While she stated that the series doesn’t break new ground, Donaldson appreciated its engaging puzzles and the subtle exploration of historical themes like colonialism.[40] David Cote of The A.V. Club gave Edge of History a B– rating. He remarked that while the series might feel nostalgic and familiar, the character of Jess Valenzuela is a welcome addition. Cote noted that the show’s approach is more kid-friendly compared to the original films and appreciated the subtle shift in focus from the Freemasons to themes of colonialism and resistance. However, he found the series to be somewhat slow-paced and criticized its sometimes grating youth-oriented dialogue. Despite these issues, Cote praised the engaging puzzles and the solid performances, particularly from Olivera and Catherine Zeta-Jones.[41]
Lucy Mangan of The Guardian rated the series three out of five stars, describing it as a nostalgic nod to 80s and 90s entertainment. She highlighted the show for its fun, action-packed adventure reminiscent of Indiana Jones and The Mummy. Mangan appreciated the new protagonist, Jess Valenzuela, and the engaging mix of puzzles and relic-hunting, even without Nicolas Cage. While Mangan acknowledged the series' predictable plot and some lackluster dialogue, she found it enjoyable and a good example of Bruckheimer’s entertaining escapism.[42] Polly Conway of Common Sense Media rated Edge of History three out of five stars. She praised Jess Valenzuela as a quick-minded and compassionate role model and noted the positive themes of teamwork and ethical decision-making, even when bending the rules. Conway pointed out that the series offers opportunities for family discussions on topics such as the challenges faced by undocumented individuals and the importance of perseverance and teamwork. She described the show as a "fun, light treasure-hunting series with adventure and violence."[43]
Accolades
National Treasure: Edge of History was one of 200 television series that received the ReFrame Stamp for the years 2022 to 2023. The stamp is awarded by the gender equity coalition ReFrame and industry database IMDbPro for film and television projects that are proven to have gender-balanced hiring, with stamps being awarded to projects that hire women, especially women of color, in four out of eight key roles for their production.[44][45]
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Future
Ted Elliott, the writer of National Treasure 3, revealed to the National Treasure Hunt podcast that he has been working on the project, completed his first draft of the script with "familiar faces" in the story, and that the TV series National Treasure: Edge of History is also being treated as canon.[50][51]
References
External links
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