TV

The Calling star Jeff Wilbusch on what sets his TV detective apart

"It's not a job for him, it's a true calling," the actor says of his character.

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Published on September 26, 2022 09:00AM EDT

Television has given us a host of detectives with special skills that set their crime-solving apart, whether it be OCD (Monk), a "fake" psychic (The Mentalist), an ability to commune with the dead (Medium), or just extremely unique powers of observation (every Sherlock Holmes adaptation ever).

But The Calling, a David E. Kelley series coming to Peacock on Nov. 10, brings us a new type of detective in Avraham Avraham (Jeff Wilbusch) — one who approaches his work as a Method actor would a role. "I see him as a Method actor, who's really diving into his cases emotionally and to other people and empathizing with them and trying not to judge them," Wilbusch tells EW. "He tries to really be in their shoes."

"Everything he has in his life is in those cases," he adds. "He's a loner, but he connects to himself and to other people, through the people that are involved in the cases. This is what makes him an excellent, unique detective. But genius has its price, and he is not a perfect detective. That's also a weakness for him, because he has certain blind spots because he's emotionally invested."

As part of that intense investment, Avraham sees his work as more of a calling (hence the title) than a job. "It's not a job for him, it's a true calling," says Wilbusch. "His whole identity is based on that. And he loves his job."

The series follows Avraham as one particularly dark and twisty case upends everything he thought he knew, alongside his new partner Janine Harris (Juliana Canfield). Canfield also marvels at this new approach to the tried-and-true character of television detective.

"David E. Kelley is a television wizard with a deep understanding of and love for richly drawn characters," she tells EW. "Janine — whom he created for the show — is an archetypal young detective with a delicious, unconventional origin story and a little sprinkle of good humor. I couldn't wait to toe the line between earnest investigation and wry commentary. And between David's particular imagination and the across-the-board brilliance of the hilarious and generous cast and crew, it was a pure delight to come in to work every day and solve crimes."

Against his will, Avraham is paired with Janine as his new partner at the direction of Captain Kathleen Davies (Karen Robinson). But despite his protestations, Janine may be what Avraham needs most. "He finds a partner that he didn't know he needed urgently in his life," says Wilbusch.

Even with this partner at his side, Avraham has a lot of self-discovery to do across the course of the series. Avraham is a man of faith, another component of his character that drives his empath-based approach to crime-solving — and keeps him at arm's length from others.

"He has his faith and he's very dogmatic about it," says Wilbusch. "But for him it's really [about] the calling of being a detective and empathizing with people, and faith is only a part of it. Avraham is a mystery, also to himself."

Check out exclusive photos from the series below, and get ready to watch Avraham unravel mysteries both personal and professional on Nov. 10.