Nathan Fillion (Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly and Serenity) makes his return to TV in the New Fox Series Drive. Drive is about an illegal cross country race, you cannot talk about being in the race or they will know, you cannot refuse to participate because they will know. The race has been going on for years and people are chosen, some are coerced and some are in it for the $32,000,000 prize. You get a phone call telling you where to go and then you Drive.

Nathan Fillion Plays Alex Tully. He is an landscape gardener and his wife (Played by the Awesome Amy Acker of Alias and Angel) is taken, forcing Alex to join this race or risk losing her. Nathan is our story’s hero. A Big Damn Hero to be sure.

Kristin Lehan (Prison Break and Tilt) plays Corinna Wiles who stows away in Alex Tully’s truck to infiltrate the race.

Also in the show is Melanie Lynskey (Rose from 2 1/2 Men) who plays Wendy Patrakas, a housewife from Ohio who joins the race mere days after having her first baby. I am not completely certain of her reasons for joining the race but they are out of desperation. As she races she will be actively pursued by someone.

Charles Martin Smith from the movie Starman plays Mr. Bright, he is an agent for the people who control the race.

Dylan Baker plays John Trimble (Dr. Curt Connors in Spiderman 3), a man who has a year to live also joins the race. John Trimble has never taken a chance in his entire life. His daughter Violet Trimble (played by Emma Stone) is 16 years old, a disaffected teenager and she is not aware she is going to be in the race. She is picked up one day from school by her father and they never stop driving from then on.

Kevin Alejandro (Ugly Betty, Sleeper Cell) plays Winston Salazar a son of a politician, but Winston was not raised by his father and Winston is streetwise. Winston was also released from prison to compete in the race. His half brother Sean Salazar (played by J.D. Pardo) is a naive youth who has had the world handed to him. The two meet and end up driving together in this race.

There is also a husband and wife team of Ellie and Rob Laird (played by Mircea Monroe and Riley Smith (Joan of Arcadia)). Rob has come back from his second tour in Iraq and his wife doesn’t want him to go back again so she joins the race. They are from Arkansas and Drive a kick ass Firebird.

Michael Hyatt (The Wire, The West Wing) plays Susan Chamblee, a Katrina Survivor who has met two other women during the Katrina disaster and they are reunited two years later. They figure that they survived hell in Katrina can pick up and go on this race.

Rochelle Aytes plays Leigh Barthouse who goes to Louisiana to check on her aunt, there she meets Susan and Ivy and she helps them out and they become friends. They meet up at a club and are pulled into the race. Taryn Manning is the third member of this trio and she plays Ivy Chitty, a sassy Southern girl.

These are the many people who are in the race and every one has a Reason 2 Drive.

Drive was created by Tim Minear and Ben Queen. Minear has been attached to TV shows that I have really enjoyed including, Standoff, The Inside, Wonderfalls, Firefly and Angel. All of these shows (except for Standoff which returns on June 8th) were two things. They were awesome and they were canceled.

For some reason Minear’s brilliance does not get the chance to fully flourish. I will be eating up every minute of this show when it airs.

On the Fox Website there is a set of 26 Videos that introduce you to Drive.

The show will premiere on Sunday April 15, 2007 on FOX and then it moves to its regular night of Mondays at 8:00. Mondays are going to be awesome with Drive at 8:00 and Heroes at 9:00. Action Mondays!

Here is a link to a teaser video about the, DRIVE.

Here is a selection of shows starring Nathan Fillion and done by Tim Minear.