Life is a single path, generated by thousands of decisions, each one potentially guiding the next. What if you had stuck with that seemingly dead-end relationship instead of breaking it off? What if you had moved to Alaska instead of staying in your hometown? What if you had chosen to join the circus instead of that accounting firm?
NBC’s thought-provoking new series “Ordinary Joe,” debuting Sept. 20, takes the “Sliding Doors” conceit and splits it into three.
James Wolk plays Joe Kimbreau, who is graduating from Syracuse University. He arrives late and bumps into Amy Kindelán (Natalie Martinez) and the two briefly bond. After the ceremony, his best friend Jenny Banks invites him to the beach to share some news. His family beckons him to join them for dinner, his heroic Sept. 11 late dad’s cop legacy hanging heavy over all of them.
In real life, Joe makes just one decision. But the show wonders what his life would look like depending on who he hangs out with after graduation.
“Ordinary Joe” interweaves Joe as a Billy Joel-type musician selling out amphitheaters and wedded to Amy; an overworked ER nurse married to Jenny with a special needs son; or a single cop dedicated to his job.
Set in New York, the series is shooting in and around Atlanta (the pilot was shot in Chicago). The focus is on Wolk, who is no stranger to TV. He’s had notable roles in shows such as CBS’s Robin Williams sitcom “The Crazy Ones,” AMC’s critically acclaimed “Mad Men” and HBO’s “Watchmen,” also produced in Georgia.
“Not only is he a star but a dream to work with,” said Garrett Lerner, one of the producers. “The nicest, kindest person. He’s patient and always prepared. And he can sing. That’s him singing.”
In the first episode, Wolk wears a heavy scruff as a musician, glasses as a doctor and a clean-cut look as a cop. But it’s less his physical appearance and more how he carries himself in each situation that matters.
“As a cop, he is more alert, more wary. He scans the room when he comes in,” Lerner said. “He’s slumped down as a nurse. He’s tired, just trying to make it through the day and putting on a brave, happy face for his son. As the famous guy, he is super comfortable and drifts toward the spotlight while cop Joe might drift off into a corner.”
The pilot episode features Joe performing a boisterous concert scene at Jones Beach on Long Island before a crowd of thousands. The reality, with COVID-19 protocols, was a group of 25 extras. “That was a combination of clever placement of 25 people and our great post team filling in the arena with digital people,” Lerner said.
And while it may seem on the surface that Joe’s “rock star” life beats being a cop or a nurse, the series will make it clear that each path has its own set of triumphs and challenges, said Russel Friend, another producer who is a huge Joel fan and was able to procure classic Joel songs for the first episode.
Elizabeth Lail, who plays Joe’s love interest Jenny Banks in at least one of the scenarios, said she is amazed how the writers and producers have juggled this often complicated triple timeline in each episode.
She said she keeps a cheat sheet on set to “remind me who I’m playing at that time and what is driving the choices she’s made. I have to remember the baggage each version of Jenny carries.”
Lail said the attraction between Jenny and Joe is real, that they both want to make their parents proud. “I also think she is attracted to the fact he is an artist at heart while she’s an academic at heart,” she said. “She’s very strong-willed yet still vulnerable.”
The weight of the show ultimately comes down to Wolk, who was too busy to do an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution because he is in practically every scene and spends time with his family during his few free moments.
“He runs on adrenaline,” Lail said. “He’s so full of energy. Even though he’s climbing an uphill battle with his hours, he never breaks. He’s not naïve about the situation. If he’s tired, you’ll know he’s tired. But he has to use that and put it out there.”
The show is shooting its sixth episode now in metro Atlanta. Charlie Barnett, who plays Joe’s childhood friend Eric, said the twisting triple plotlines keep him on his feet. “I start rooting for different Joes, different Amys, different Jennys. Even my own character. I think that one is cool and I hate that one.”
NBC has high hopes for the show, with heavy marketing and promotion, especially with the pending departure of its most successful current drama “This is Us,” which is about to start its sixth and final season.
Early reviews of the show so far have been mixed.
The Spool’s Tim Stevens says James Wolk’s “effortless charisma becomes an undeniable asset” with dialogue that has a “relaxed, lived-in feel.” Verne Gay of Long Island Newsday is less enamored, calling it “prime-time popcorn in the service of a clever idea.”
Lerner said he hopes people embrace the show’s “heartfelt characters and its philosophical bent.”
WHERE TO WATCH
“Ordinary Joe,” 10 p.m. Mondays on NBC starting Sept. 20
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