Television critics believed that other factors explained the network's decision, as the show gained viewers who watched up to seven days later on their DVRs.

Dr. Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd) is a New York City medical examiner who studies the dead for criminal cases, and to solve the mystery of his own immortality.

Each time he dies, Henry disappears almost immediately and returns to life naked in a nearby body of water, the only sign of injury being a scar at the site of his original gunshot wound from long ago.

Henry's long life has given him broad knowledge and remarkable observation skills which impress most people he encounters, including New York Police Department Detective Jo Martinez (Alana de la Garza).

Only antiquarian Abe (Judd Hirsch), whom Henry and his now-deceased wife Abigail found as a newborn in a German concentration camp during World War II, knows that he is immortal.

[1] Dr. Henry Morgan is killed by a subway train collision, and after his return from the East River underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, he is called by an unknown individual who says he saw his power of immortality.

The culprit used Aconite, a near instant and incredibly painful poison from the Monkshood flower, and is planning to use it in gas form to distribute through Grand Central Station as revenge on the train companies who were "responsible" for his wife's death on a subway track.

In the present, the victim's professor, who was translating an ancient Latin codex with her, is the prime suspect until found dead, after being released on bail.

Gloria Carlyle, the matriarch of a rich and powerful New York family, is found dead during a celebratory event in the museum she was a major patron of, that was organized in her honor.

Henry and Jo investigate a wealthy businessman's connection to the death of a former convict, who ran a recreation center for children in New York's inner city.

When a human heart is delivered fresh out of a body to the homicide division, Henry and Jo end up in the middle of a Jack the Ripper copycat murder investigation.

However, Henry's anonymous caller tips him to search beyond the clues of these classic killings and leads the police squad to profile a very different, yet disturbed suspect.

Henry and Jo discover a mysterious Roman Numeral tattoo on his chest and that he is from a wealthy background which he has distanced himself from for unknown reasons.

The murder of the son of jazz saxophonist Pepper Evans prompts a series of reflections on father-son relationships and an investigation into issues relating to the rights to famous jazz song "6 A.M." The apparent death of an English noble, engaged to a girl from a very wealthy New York family, reveals that the man was leading a double life.

A young man is hit by a car, Jo is forced to deal with unhappy memories of her late husband, and Abe investigates a theft in his shop.

Henry and Jo investigate the murder of an exiled king who was dying of cancer; Abe continues his research into his family tree and discovers something remarkable about his bloodline.

A young NYU student is murdered, and it is revealed that she had been engaging in 1970s fantasy roleplay to help an older man relive memories of his late wife.

A member of a secret "hacktivist" group called the Faceless is murdered, leading Henry and Jo into the world of cyber-terrorism; Abe remembers his days as an activist.

Later Irene, working for the cybercrime division of NYPD, sees video of Liz leaving Henry's home and investigates him, finding his false records.

Working to obfuscate the existence of immortals, Henry determines that an antiquities specialist obtained the dagger to lure Adam, having learned of him from Mengele's journal.

Miller stated in an interview with BuddyTV writer Catherine Cabanela that he had never seen that type of family on television before, and he believed that it provide the show with an emotional element.

[57] When they sent the script to him,[58] Hirsch liked the series' premise,[19] its historical aspect,[59] its intelligence,[1] and the idea that the audience would see life from Henry's perspective.

[9] The show's procedural aspect,[1] the series' serialized nature, and the believability of the world[65] interested de la Garza.

[80] During the episode's production, Gruffudd and the crew filmed the rebirth scene against a green screen in a university swimming pool[83] due to the strength of the East River's current.

The site's consensus stated, "Forever star Ioan Gruffudd is appealing, but his charm can't overcome the show's gimmicky, unrealized premise.

[93] The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman concurred, feeling that the lack of answers about Henry's immortality could pose problems for viewers.

[113][114][115] The series' success in spite of its cancellation in the United States prompted Rebeca Cortes of El Norte de Castilla to call Forever "the summer surprise".

Forever received a nomination for "Best Primetime Television Program - Drama" category for the 30th annual Imagen Awards,[124] but lost to Law & Order: SVU.

[145] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly's Natalie Abrams, Miller stated that ABC appeared to like the direction of the show's second season.

[161] Kate Stanhope of The Hollywood Reporter and Matt Roush of TV Insider felt that Forever's time slot was a factor for the low ratings.