The Nine Lives of Chloe King
Encyclopedia
The Nine Lives of Chloe King is an American fantasy drama television series which premiered on ABC Family
on June 14, 2011 and ended on August 16, 2011. The one-hour drama is based on the book series of the same name by Liz Braswell. The series follows Chloe King (Skyler Samuels
), a girl who discovers that she is a descendant of an ancient race of Baset offspring called the Mai, as she attempts to learn more about her cat-like powers with her friends and protectors, while also assuming the role of the "Uniter," a warrior that can stop the war between Mai and humans. Chloe is also bestowed with nine lives and must stay alive while dealing with her love life and the mysteries behind her missing father.
.
, Chloe King, is a teenager who discovers she has special cat-like powers, including nine lives, enhanced speed, strength, hearing, agility, night vision and the ability to extend her nails like cat claws, along with the ability to sense human emotions.
When Chloe realizes a mysterious figure is shadowing her, she goes on to uncover that she is a descendant of an ancient race called the Mai. She discovers she has nine lives and is told by Jasmine and Alek that she may be the key to protecting the race from human assassins, who have hunted them for thousands of years.
. The daughter of Ramesses III fell in love with a Mai, but the pharaoh banned their nuptials, so they eloped. When the humans and Mai learned of the union, the Mai boy was apprehended and killed by the Egyptians, causing the divide between the two races to grow deeper. As the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt
began, the Mai were shunned from society and an organization called The Order emerged. The Order, a group of human assassins, began hunting the half-god race until they were nearly extinct. The fight between the Mai and the Order forced the Mai into hiding and is said to have been so violent, it is supposedly the cause of some of the world's most famous and bloodiest wars.
The Mai are also mortal enemies of the Jackals, a race descended from the Egyptian jackal-god Anubis
. The Jackals are described as being filthy and savage, as well as the dregs of society. Ironically, the Mai display the same racist attitudes towards Jackals as The Order display towards the Mai themselves. According to Alek, every ancient god has offspring but only those two were introduced.
, Ukraine
, San Francisco, São Paulo
, Russia
, and Hong Kong
. Folklore predicts a "Uniter", a Mai born with nine lives, is the only one who will be able to end the Mai-Human war and restore balance between the two races. When Chloe is pushed from Coit Tower
and is killed, but returns to life, her Mai peers Alek and Jasmine conclude she is the Uniter with eight remaining lives.
Any intimate actions between a Mai and a human is harmful to the human, resulting in the human's paralysis or death within a few hours. Only the Uniter can be resurrected, although each death will get more painful as time goes on. In addition to nine lives, the Uniter is also an Empath
, able to detect and experience the emotions of humans. Chloe can feel other species' emotions, like the Jackals, but this does not work on the Mai. According to Valentina, all Mai once had this ability.
and is based on Alloy Entertainment
's series of three young-adult books by Elizabeth J. Braswell (originally published under the pen name Celia Thomson). Alloy is producing the series.
. Slate
reviewer Troy Patterson praises the series, calling it "charming" while also observing that it covers familiar ground. Daily News writer David Hinckley writes "ABC Family wins with mix of teen romance, supernatural powers".
The pilot episode drew over 2 million viewers when it debuted in June 2011. The season, and ultimately the series, finale had dropped about half of that initial audience, drawing just over 1 million viewers.
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
on June 14, 2011 and ended on August 16, 2011. The one-hour drama is based on the book series of the same name by Liz Braswell. The series follows Chloe King (Skyler Samuels
Skyler Samuels
Skyler Rose Samuels is an American actress. She is known for her recurring role as Gertrude "Gigi" Hollingsworth in Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel and for appearing in the feature films The Stepfather and Furry Vengeance. She also starred in the ABC series The Gates...
), a girl who discovers that she is a descendant of an ancient race of Baset offspring called the Mai, as she attempts to learn more about her cat-like powers with her friends and protectors, while also assuming the role of the "Uniter," a warrior that can stop the war between Mai and humans. Chloe is also bestowed with nine lives and must stay alive while dealing with her love life and the mysteries behind her missing father.
.
Premise
The protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, Chloe King, is a teenager who discovers she has special cat-like powers, including nine lives, enhanced speed, strength, hearing, agility, night vision and the ability to extend her nails like cat claws, along with the ability to sense human emotions.
When Chloe realizes a mysterious figure is shadowing her, she goes on to uncover that she is a descendant of an ancient race called the Mai. She discovers she has nine lives and is told by Jasmine and Alek that she may be the key to protecting the race from human assassins, who have hunted them for thousands of years.
Main characters
- Chloe King (Skyler SamuelsSkyler SamuelsSkyler Rose Samuels is an American actress. She is known for her recurring role as Gertrude "Gigi" Hollingsworth in Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel and for appearing in the feature films The Stepfather and Furry Vengeance. She also starred in the ABC series The Gates...
) is a descendant of an ancient race called the Mai. She is believed to be the savior of the Mai race, with extra abilities and the gift of nine lives, making her the "Uniter", a warrior in a prophecy that states that she must save the world and both the Mai and Human races, and stop their war. She is originally from UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, but was brought to the United States by the man who became her adoptive father and may know of her powers. - Alek Petrov (Benjamin StoneBenjamin Stone (actor)Benjamin Stone was born in Kingston, Surrey. He has a twin sister. He is known for playing Alek in The Nine Lives of Chloe King, and William "Blank" Blankenship in the series 10 Things I Hate About You. He is also known for being a voice actor in four of the Harry Potter video games.- Filmography...
) is one of the descendants of the Mai race and Jasmine's cousin who reveals himself to Chloe to protect her. Alek attempted to kiss Chloe in the first episode, but was stopped by Jasmine before he could. He acts as her protector, and helps keep her from harm. His parents were killed by the Order. He has a habit of cracking jokes and teasing Chloe about aspects of the Mai's abilities and attributes. Alek eventually ends up falling in love with Chloe. In episode 7, Alek comes to Chloe, tells her that they belong together and kisses her. Before the episode ends, Chloe kisses him back. Alek goes to Paul and seeks advice on how to woo Chloe. Paul reveals that there is nothing more important to Chloe than her friends. Later, Alek tells Chloe that he wants the duty of Chloe's protecter to be removed so that if Chloe ever ends up in trouble he can be there because he wants to, not because he has to. It is revealed in the season 1 finale that Zane is his brother. - Meredith King (Amy PietzAmy PietzAmy Pietz is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Pietz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the adopted daughter of Nancy, a nurse, and Arnold Pietz, a truck driver. She trained throughout her childhood in ballet and prepared to go professional, but eventually decided not to due to...
) is the mother of Chloe King. Her husband found Chloe and decided to adopt her but later left her, making Meredith a single parent. - Amy (Grace PhippsGrace PhippsGrace Phipps is an American actress, perhaps best known for her role as Bee in the remake of Fright Night.-Early life:Phipps was born in Austin, Texas, raised in Boerne, Texas and San Antonio, Texas, where she graduated from Robert E...
) is one of Chloe's best friends. She started dating Paul, the final member of the trio, in the first episode. They broke up briefly, but soon realized one fight was not enough to keep them apart. - Paul (Ki Hong Lee) is one of Chloe's best friends and is dating Amy. He is shown to be somewhat of a comic book geek, being very excited when Chloe develops her powers. He is the only one out of Chloe's group of human friends who believe from the beginning that her powers were a gift, not a curse, and demanded to be Chloe's 'sidekick'.
- Jasmine (Alyssa DiazAlyssa DiazAlyssa Elaine Diaz is an American actress. Diaz is best known for playing the role of Jasmine on the ABC Family show The Nine lives of Chloe King as well as Celia Ortega on the daytime soap opera As The World Turns from February 9, 2005 until her final appearance on August 10, 2005 when her...
) is one of the descendants of the Mai race who seeks to protect Chloe, the savior of their race. Her mother Valentina is the leader of the San Francisco Mai. Throughout the first season, Jasmine reveals that she has struggled to earn her mother's approval. In the season 1 finale Jasmine is stabbed by Zane and appears to be dying next to her mother. - Brian Rezza (Grey DamonGrey DamonGrey Damon is an American actor. Grey was born on September 24, 1987 and currently resides in Los Angeles.- Career :Damon is known for starring in the hit television shows True Blood, Friday Night Lights and most recently, The Nine Lives of Chloe King as Brian. He also had roles in 90210 and ABC's...
) is a friend and lover to Chloe and also the son of the man who is attempting to kill Chloe to wipe out the Mai civilization. He is referred to as "kitty hat" by Amy, because Chloe met Brian by selling him a hat with cat ears. Brian and Chloe have a very complicated relationship due to Chloe's inability to "get intimate" with humans, lest they die or become paralyzed. Brian admits to loving Chloe, but Chloe tells him they are to be "just friends" Brian catches Chloe kissing Alek and becomes angered that she does not return his feelings. He continues to see Chloe as friends, which in turn angers Alek, who does not understand why Chloe still has feelings for Brian. Brian pushes and punches Alek, which deeply angers Chloe, due to her protection of friends. Brian tells her later that he acted so physically because "it was him," meaning that Alek was the one who had first wounded Chloe's and Brian's friendship. In the season 1 finale it appears that he dies because he kissed Chloe.
Recurring characters
- Valentina (Alicia CoppolaAlicia CoppolaAlicia Coppola is an American television actress.-Career:Coppola started her TV career as a hostess on the MTV game show Remote Control. In 1991, she was hired to play vixen Lorna Devon on the soap opera Another World; she played the role until 1994...
) is Jasmine's mother, and the leader of all the Mai in San Francisco. According to Jasmine and Alek, she has killed fifteen members of the Order with her bare hands. She is the subject of Jasmine's frustration, due to her lack of attention towards her daughter. Valentina believes that Chloe must leave behind her human life in order to pursue her destiny, though after Chloe goes out of her way to help her friend and employer against an abusive ex-boyfriend, she states that Chloe is everything she expected of the Uniter and that it may be time for the Mai and the humans to stop living in separate worlds. In the season finale, she is killed with a poison dart. - Whitley Rezza (David S. Lee) is Brian's father, and a member of the Order. Throughout the first season, he proves to have more secrets than anyone Brian has ever known. Brian takes Chloe to an art exhibit with Mr. Rezza in the same room. Brian has no knowledge of his father's work, as well, Mr. Rezza and Brian know nothing about each other's connections to Chloe.
- Simone (Jolene Andersen) is Whitley Rezza's coworker. She seems to be the one who oversees all assassinations the Order makes. Simone also shows an interest in Whitley, which she returns throughout the first season.
- Frank Cabrera (Cristian de la FuenteCristián de la FuenteCristián de la Fuente Sabarots is a Chilean-American actor.-Early life:De la Fuente was born in Santiago, Chile, as the only child of chemist Hugo de la Fuente and Adriana Sabarots, a homemaker of French descent...
) is Meredith's boyfriend as well as her employee. Meredeth continues to see Frank until episode 9, in which both agree to stop the relationship until they sort out other personal relationships. He has a daughter, Vanessa, as well as an ex-wife. - Lana (Aeriel Miranda) is Chloe's boss at the clothing store where she works.
- The Rogue (Kiko EllsworthKiko EllsworthKiko Ellsworth is an American actor. Ellsworth is best known for his portrayal of Jamal Woods in the now defunct ABC daytime drama, Port Charles. In March 2007, Ellsworth returned to daytime television in the role of Stan Johnson on another ABC daytime drama, General Hospital...
), an assassin who tracks Chloe and attempts to kill her in the first three episodes of the series.
Episodes
Mai
The Mai are an ancient race of supernatural beings, the human offspring of the Ancient Egyptian cat goddess, Baset. Chloe learns she is a member of them on her sixteenth birthday.History
The Mai once acted as defenders of the human race, first as guardians for Egyptian pharaohs. Descendants of the Egyptian cat-goddess Baset, the part-god, part-human Mai used their cat-like attributes to serve and advise humans. The Mai's role as protectors lasted until the 16th century B.C when they were defeated by the RamessesRamesses
Ramesses is the name conventionally given in English transliteration to 11 Egyptian pharaohs of the later New Kingdom period. The name essentially translates as "Born of the sun-god Ra"....
. The daughter of Ramesses III fell in love with a Mai, but the pharaoh banned their nuptials, so they eloped. When the humans and Mai learned of the union, the Mai boy was apprehended and killed by the Egyptians, causing the divide between the two races to grow deeper. As the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt
Third Intermediate Period of Egypt
The Third Intermediate Period refers to the time in Ancient Egypt from the death of Pharaoh Ramesses XI in 1070 BC to the foundation of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty by Psamtik I in 664 BC, following the expulsion of the Nubian rulers of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty....
began, the Mai were shunned from society and an organization called The Order emerged. The Order, a group of human assassins, began hunting the half-god race until they were nearly extinct. The fight between the Mai and the Order forced the Mai into hiding and is said to have been so violent, it is supposedly the cause of some of the world's most famous and bloodiest wars.
The Mai are also mortal enemies of the Jackals, a race descended from the Egyptian jackal-god Anubis
Anubis
Anubis is the Greek name for a jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. In the ancient Egyptian language, Anubis is known as Inpu . According to the Akkadian transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized as Anapa...
. The Jackals are described as being filthy and savage, as well as the dregs of society. Ironically, the Mai display the same racist attitudes towards Jackals as The Order display towards the Mai themselves. According to Alek, every ancient god has offspring but only those two were introduced.
Present day
The Mai have now spread out worldwide, with Mai settlements in such places as New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, San Francisco, São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Folklore predicts a "Uniter", a Mai born with nine lives, is the only one who will be able to end the Mai-Human war and restore balance between the two races. When Chloe is pushed from Coit Tower
Coit Tower
Coit Tower is a tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The tower, in the city's Pioneer Park, was built in 1933 at the request of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city of San Francisco; Coit bequeathed one-third of her estate to the city "to be expended in an...
and is killed, but returns to life, her Mai peers Alek and Jasmine conclude she is the Uniter with eight remaining lives.
Characteristics
Because of their cat-like abilities, the Mai were natural protectors of the Egyptians and possess several abilities and gifts, and also several weaknesses. Traits include:- Enhanced strength, speed, and stamina
- Magnified reflexes and agility (allowing Mai to land on their feet after falling great distances)
- Increased healing and resistance to poison
- Heightened senses including hearing and smell
- Improved night vision
- Retractable claws
Any intimate actions between a Mai and a human is harmful to the human, resulting in the human's paralysis or death within a few hours. Only the Uniter can be resurrected, although each death will get more painful as time goes on. In addition to nine lives, the Uniter is also an Empath
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
, able to detect and experience the emotions of humans. Chloe can feel other species' emotions, like the Jackals, but this does not work on the Mai. According to Valentina, all Mai once had this ability.
Production
The show is written by Daniel BerendsenDaniel Berendsen
Daniel Berendsen is an American producer, and screenwriter, best known as the co-writer of Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, and the writer of Hannah Montana: The Movie and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie....
and is based on Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment
Alloy Entertainment is a book-packaging division of the Alloy Media + Marketing company—an American provider of media programs. Alloy is a leading producer of "chick lit"-style novels created for teenage and young adult audiences...
's series of three young-adult books by Elizabeth J. Braswell (originally published under the pen name Celia Thomson). Alloy is producing the series.
Filming
The exterior shots of the house in which the character, Chloe King, lives in is located at: 572 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. The cross streets are Mariposa Street and 18th Street on Rhode Island Street. From public records, the house was built in 1906 and is listed as a 1,774 square foot, 2 bedroom/ 2 bathroom single family home.Promotion
In preparation for the premiere, ABCFamily.com rolled out "The Nine Paths to Chloe King", an online game encouraging users to uncover the secrets of the Mai and find The Uniter in order to unlock exclusive content and enter to win a chance to visit the set. Bloggers, or members of the Circle of Strangers, shared additional clues for the game, and users were encouraged to follow their sites as well as their Twitter feeds with the term #NinePaths.Critical and popular response
The series has received mostly positive reviews, gaining a score of 68 out of 100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
reviewer Troy Patterson praises the series, calling it "charming" while also observing that it covers familiar ground. Daily News writer David Hinckley writes "ABC Family wins with mix of teen romance, supernatural powers".
The pilot episode drew over 2 million viewers when it debuted in June 2011. The season, and ultimately the series, finale had dropped about half of that initial audience, drawing just over 1 million viewers.
Awards
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ||||
| Teen Choice Award 2011 Teen Choice Awards The 2011 Teen Choice Awards hosted by Kaley Cuoco aired live on August 7, 2011 at 8/7c on Fox. This was the first time that the ceremonies were aired live since the 2007 show... |
Choice Breakout Show | The Nine Lives of Chloe King | ||
| Teen Choice Award 2011 Teen Choice Awards The 2011 Teen Choice Awards hosted by Kaley Cuoco aired live on August 7, 2011 at 8/7c on Fox. This was the first time that the ceremonies were aired live since the 2007 show... |
Choice Breakout Star | Skyler Samuels Skyler Samuels Skyler Rose Samuels is an American actress. She is known for her recurring role as Gertrude "Gigi" Hollingsworth in Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel and for appearing in the feature films The Stepfather and Furry Vengeance. She also starred in the ABC series The Gates... |