ABC's "Traveler" to Start Road Trip Early

Remember Traveler, that little 8 episode action drama that was originally ordered for the 2006-07 season?

The series, which stars Matthew Bomer, Logan Marshall-Green, Aaron Stanford, William Sadler, and Stephen Culp (a.k.a. poor dead Rex from Desperate Housewives), follows two grad students (Bomer, Marshall-Green) forced to go on the run after their friend (Stanford) frames them for a terrorist act (namely, the blowing up of one NYC museum). Together, they must find a way to prove their innocence while tracking down the man responsible for the crime (the titular Will Traveler).

ABC announced a few weeks back that it would burn off the series (earlier chopped from its 13 episode initial order to 8 eps) in its entirety this summer, a rather unceremonious dumping of a show that I found eminently more engaging and suspenseful than, say, the current season of 24.

To counter-balance any negativity to the summer scheduling, ABC has now announced that Traveler will in fact kick off on its deadly road trip earlier than expected. The freshman drama will get a sneak peek of sorts on May 10th in the prime post-Grey's Anatomy slot at 10 pm.

Traveler's pilot episode (look for a review next week) will then be rebroadcast on May 30th (its original launch date) in the series' regular timeslot, Wednesdays at 10 pm.

Having seen multiple versions of Traveler's pilot over the last year, I can't wait for this summer series to kick off. I'm just itching for something smart, suspenseful, and sleek to watch during the long, hot months of summer.