NBC may no longer peacock comedy, but they’re certainly interested in peacocking Sunday night prestige dramas. In April, the network will premiere American Odyssey, a globe-spanning story of war, terrorism, and conspiracies that hopes to hit the sweet spot between Homeland and Traffic. The complex narrative follows a number of threads, but at the center is Sgt. Odelle Ballard (Pushing Daisies’ Anna Friel), presumed dead and struggling to survive undercover in North Africa. American Odyssey premieres on April 5, but The A.V. Club has an opportunity for you to catch an advance preview of the pilot episode on the big screen on March 25. For your chance to win a pair of passes to the screening, simply follow the link here and enter your information. As always, seats for advanced screenings are first come, first served, so be sure to arrive early. A trailer and (quite lengthy) official plot synopsis can be found below.
“After a team of American soldiers battles jihadists in North Africa, they’re shocked to learn that they’ve stumbled upon and killed Al Qaeda’s top commander. Sgt. Odelle Ballard (Anna Friel) discovers computer files that prove that a major U.S. corporation is funding the jihadists. But before she can tell anyone, her team is attacked and killed. The world is told that the unit was wiped out by enemy militants, but the truth is that Odelle survived and is the only witness to her unit’s true assassins: private military contractors Osela. As Odelle struggles to survive and find her way home, in New York former U.S. Attorney turned corporate litigator Peter Decker (Peter Facinelli) finds himself embroiled in a merger with the same company that funded the jihadists. As Peter begins to connect the corrupt dots of this company’s terrorist involvement, Harrison Walters (Jake Robinson), a political activist and trust fund kid, meets a hacker, Bob Offer (Nate Mooney), who claims to have unearthed a massive military-industrial-complex conspiracy. Bob is right: He’s stumbled onto the same cover-up that Odelle discovered, which will soon become a national headline with lethal implications. The only way they’ll ever save their country, their families and themselves is by joining forces and exposing the people behind it.”