If you’ve turned on ABC in the past four months, chances are you have heard of the new show called Happy Town. It was created by the men behind October Road, the U.S. Life on Mars and stars Sam Neill, Steven Weber, Frances Conroy and M.C. Gainey as residents of the small town of Haplin, Minnesota. Haplin, or Happy Town to its inhabitants, is a seemingly perfect town that always smells of bread from the factory on the hill. However, it holds a deep, dark secret in the form by a series of mysterious disappearances, supposedly at the hands of “The Magic Man.”

The premiere episode, “In This Home On Ice,” which airs on Wednesday night at 10 p.m., starts like a classic slasher movie. A couple making out in the woods, a brutal murder and then the title of the show in rapid succession.

From there, we meet a pretty substantial cast of characters who all seem just a little…off. There’s Merritt Grieves (Neill), the lone man who lives in a bed and breakfast and is opening a movie memorabilia shop. There’s Sheriff Griffin Conroy (Gainey) who keeps going into a random trance and mentioning a person named Chloe, all at the behest of his son Tommy (Geoff Stults). There are the four widows who live in the B&B, exchange gossip and follow the rules of a creepy housekeeper who makes sure no one goes on the third floor. And then there’s Henley (Lauren German), the new girl who has rolled into town for very mysterious/convenient reasons.

After watching the first episode of Happy Town, I must admit, it felt a little too familiar and small. The story unfolds like a typical murder mystery as we meet a bunch of people, who may or may not be suspects, each with their own subtle suspicions. A ton of story lines and mythology are set up for down the road such as an upcoming festival, clues on the victim’s body, a Romeo & Juliet romance and, of course, hints about The Magic Man. The whole episode feels long; like nothing happens except set up. A lot of hook, line but not enough sinker. Then, finally, the last four minutes of the show really picks up and gives its audience the big jolt it has been waiting for the entire time.

As a first episode, Happy Town isn’t really the grabber one would expect. The potential is laying around each and every corner, but we’ll have to wait and see how fast we are given answers and if those answers provide more questions we, the audience, will be interested to learn about.