It’s been over a decade. Honestly, it still stings for sci-fi fans. When Fox pulled the plug on J.H. Wyman’s futuristic buddy-cop drama, it wasn't just because the ratings were "meh" or the scheduling was a total disaster—though, let's be real, airing episodes out of order didn't help. The real tragedy was losing the chemistry between the cast of Almost Human. You don't just find that kind of lightning in a bottle every pilot season.
Karl Urban and Michael Ealy basically carried the show on their backs, but the supporting players were just as vital. They built a world that felt lived-in. It felt gritty. It felt like a version of 2048 we could actually see happening, despite the crazy tech.
Karl Urban as Detective John Kennex
Karl Urban is a specialist in the "grumpy man with a heart of gold" trope. Before he was Billy Butcher in The Boys, he was John Kennex. Kennex was a man literally broken by his past. After a disastrous police raid left him in a coma and cost him his leg (and his partner), he returned to the force with a synthetic limb he absolutely hated and a massive chip on his shoulder.
Urban played Kennex with this simmering, low-level irritation that felt incredibly authentic. He wasn't just a generic action hero. He was a guy struggling with PTSD in a world that moved too fast for him. You could see it in the way he fidgeted with his cybernetic leg or the way he looked at the high-tech "MX" androids with pure disdain.
Most actors would have made Kennex unlikable. Urban made him relatable. He was the audience's surrogate—the guy wondering why everything had to be so complicated and digital.
Michael Ealy as Dorian (DRN-0167)
If Kennex was the soul of the show, Dorian was the heart. Michael Ealy took on a role that is notoriously difficult: playing an artificial being who is more "human" than the humans around him.
Dorian was a DRN model. These were older androids designed with "Synthetic Soul" programs. Basically, they were built to feel. This made them unpredictable and eventually led to them being decommissioned in favor of the logical, cold MX units. Ealy’s performance was masterful because he didn't play Dorian as a robot trying to be a man. He played him as a man who happened to be made of wires and cooling fluid.
The banter between Ealy and Urban was the show's pulse. Dorian’s dry wit and his genuine curiosity about human behavior provided the perfect foil to Kennex’s cynicism. Whether they were arguing about Dorian’s "flashy" personality or the ethics of memory wiping, the dynamic was gold.
The Supporting Players Who Rounded Out the World
While the central duo got the most screen time, the surrounding cast of Almost Human filled in the cracks of this cyberpunk society.
Minka Kelly as Detective Valerie Stahl
Valerie Stahl was often the moral compass. Minka Kelly played her as someone who grew up in this hyper-tech world but still valued the old-fashioned "gut feeling" of police work. There was a subtle, slow-burn romantic tension between her and Kennex, but the show—thankfully—didn't rush it. She was also a "Chrome," a genetically enhanced human, which added a layer of social commentary about class and biological perfection that the show only just started to peel back before it was canceled.
Mackenzie Crook as Rudy Lom
Rudy was the quirky lab tech, the guy who lived in the basement and felt more comfortable around circuit boards than people. Mackenzie Crook (of The Pirates of the Caribbean and The Office UK fame) brought a nervous, frantic energy that gave the show its much-needed comic relief. Rudy wasn't just a geek, though; he was the one who maintained Dorian, and his protective nature over the android gave the character a lot of depth.
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Lili Taylor as Captain Sandra Maldonado
You need a strong anchor for a precinct, and Lili Taylor was it. As Captain Maldonado, she had to balance the political pressures of a high-tech city with the chaotic antics of her best detective. Taylor is a powerhouse actress, and she brought a gravitas to the role that made the stakes feel real. She believed in Kennex when no one else did.
Why the Chemistry Worked (And Why Fox Blew It)
Chemistry is a weird thing. You can't script it. You can't force it in post-production. The cast of Almost Human had it in spades.
The problem? Fox aired the episodes out of chronological order. If you watched it live in 2013-2014, the character development felt... off. One week Kennex and Dorian were bonding, the next they were acting like they barely knew each other. It was a mess. Fans who discovered the show later on streaming or DVD realized that if you watch them in the intended order, the arc is actually brilliant.
The show tackled heavy themes:
- What does it mean to have a soul?
- Is a memory real if it can be backed up or deleted?
- How does humanity survive when technology makes us obsolete?
They did all this while keeping the "case of the week" format engaging. One episode involved "sexbots" being used for murder; another dealt with a high-tech kidnapping ring. It was Blade Runner meets Lethal Weapon.
The Unanswered Questions
Because the show was canceled after only 13 episodes, we never got answers to the big mysteries. What was over "The Wall"? Who was behind the Syndicate that betrayed Kennex? Was Dorian’s "Synthetic Soul" actually a digital copy of a real person?
The cast has moved on to huge things. Karl Urban is a global star. Michael Ealy is constantly working in high-profile dramas. But if you ask fans at a convention today, they still talk about Almost Human.
Actionable Insights for Fans and New Viewers
If you're looking to dive into the world of John Kennex and Dorian, don't just hit play on whatever streaming service has it. You have to be strategic.
- Watch in the Correct Order: This is non-negotiable. The broadcast order is 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 3, 10, 2, 9, 4, 11, 12, 13. To actually see the character growth as intended, watch them in the production order (1, 2, 3, 4...).
- Look for the Details: The background world-building is insane. Pay attention to the digital billboards and the tech in Rudy's lab. The production design was top-tier for its time.
- Follow the Cast: If you loved the dynamic, check out Karl Urban in The Boys or Michael Ealy in Reasonable Doubt. They bring that same intensity to their newer roles.
The show remains a cult classic because it wasn't just about robots shooting lasers. It was about a broken man finding a friend in a machine. It was about the weird, messy, beautiful thing we call consciousness. Even though we only got 13 hours of it, those 13 hours were some of the best sci-fi television of the 2010s.