They say it’s the Golden Age of Television, but they also say: not all that glitters is gold. That’s why we’re here, every month, to dig through the annals of content, of crime story after crime story after crime story, to identify the gems among the masses. It’s a new (financial) year, and TV is on the up and up, with networks renewing seasons, buying episodes, and green-lighting series. The month in TV is already in full swing: we have the geo-political story of a maybe-Messiah, maybe-fraud, Richard Price’s take on Stephen King, and more Portland noir. Happy 2020!
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JANUARY’S HIGHLIGHTS
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Messiah
(Netflix, 1/1)
The Abrahamic religions all state that, at the end of times, the messiah will descend upon Earth to save the worthy. He will unite the tribes of Israel, usher in a Messianic Age, and liberate the good people. This new Netflix series, which premiered on the rather biblical first day of the year, brings this premise to life. Al-Masih is an enigmatic man who appears in Damascus, preaching through an epic sandstorm. When the dust clears, a large group of Palestinians are following him to the Israeli border. He seems to be able to perform miracles, albeit with the stupefying confidence of a con artist. After amassing followers from the world over, he shows up in America, where people are particularly receptive to the promise of a Chosen One, leaving the CIA with an existential quandary far beyond its pay grade.
Stumptown, Season 1B
(ABC, 1/8)
The first season of this hard-hitting PI show premiered to a deluge of acclaim, with network TV making a hell of a case for itself and putting all of us cable-snubbers to shame. It was such a success, in fact, that that network opted to order a slew of extra episodes, hence this week’s viewing. Based on Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth’s graphic novels of the same name, it stars Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) as Dex Parios, a bold US vet-turned-private investigator. Dex is a familiar character in some senses—a modern-day hard boiled detective—but Smulders brings a fresh take to the character. She’s a woman who hasn’t had an easy go at it—she’s an excessive drinker, an inveterate gambler, and has undiagnosed PTSD—but she’s seen enough to figure her way out of practically anything. With the misty Pacific Northwest, blue collar Portland, and Dex Parois on the case, we are only wishing for streaming so we wouldn’t have this excruciating wait for the next installment.
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector
(NBC, 1/10)
Based on Jeffery Deaver’s beloved 1997 cat and mouse thriller, Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector is the newest forensic-based procedural to grace cable television. Two members of the NYPD—a paraplegic criminologist and a young cop working on a PhD in criminal psychology—join forces to track an infamous serial killer who has been leaving his evil mark on NYC for the better part of two decades. The title just about sums it up—get ready for a lot of Central Park, and a substantial role from Michael Imperioli aka Chrissy Moltisanti from The Sopranos.
The Outsider
(HBO, 1/12)
Stephen King, created by Richard Price, HBO style. If that doesn’t sound legendary, I don’t know what to tell you. When a young boy is raped and murdered, the evidence leads to a shocking culprit: Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman), an all around beloved figure in the small Oklahoma town. But while the evidence of his presence at the site of the crime is unequivocal, there is equally definitive proof that he was somewhere else. Taking the killing of a boy as its central mystery, this investigative thriller, in typical King fashion, then spins into the realm of the supernatural, leading local detective Ben Mendelsohn and private investigator Cynthia Erivo down a rabbit hole of horror. Directed by Jason Bateman—and did I mention Dennis Lehane helped write the script?
Resistance
(PBS, 1/20)
This historic French thriller was inspired by the real life efforts of the Groupe du musée de l’Homme to resist Nazi-occupied Paris in 1940. This 6-episode miniseries is not just another World War II story in the trenches, or in the camps. Following a group of extraordinarily brave teenagers who publish an underground newspaper called Résistance, it depicts the drudgery, the mounting anxiety, and the insidious skepticism of day to day life in wartime. Available on PBS in the US, as well as on “Walter Presents,” a channel of curated, high quality crime and drama from around the world.
The Dead Lands
(Shudder, 1/23)
“Shudder” is AMC’s home for horror and suspense; The Dead Lands is its foray into the terrifying potential of Māori—the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand—history and myths. The supernatural thriller begins with Waka Nuku Rau, a murdered warrior who returns to the world of the living to face his sins. Unfortunately, he’s not the only one: he arrives in the midst of a war between the mortals and the immortals—the souls of the dead are hunting the living, intent on turning the earthly world into a premature hell. Waka pairs up with a young woman to navigate the new world—the tribal allegiances, the supernatural forces, and the source of this nefarious breach between Life and the Afterlife. For fans of AMC’s other horror show, The Terror.
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MORE IN CRIME TV
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Dracula (Netflix/BBC, 1/1)
Dracula gets the Sherlock treatment i.e. a playful, snappy reinterpretation that treasures the source material without taking itself too seriously.
Deputy (Fox, 1/2)
A sexy procedural, as well as a brazen Western, for those who are looking for a mood (and never tire of tropes).
Surviving R. Kelly II: The Reckoning (Lifetime, 1/3)
More R. Kelly monstrosities? At some point we might think about our boundless appetite for this stuff.
FBI: Most Wanted (CBS, 1/7)
This spin-off of mega-producer Dick Wolf’s FBI centers on the Fugitive Task Force, a group in charge of tracking those on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Backed by the team behind the Law & Order franchise.
True Life: Crime (MTV, 1/8)
MTV “news” host Dometi Pongo investigates the social media-documented crimes of our time in a probably-trashy new series.
Medical Police (Netflix, 1/10)
It’s not a proper month in television without a crime show parody. When there’s an outbreak of a fatal virus, two pediatricians set out to save the world, traveling to far-flung countries to expose a global conspiracy, le Carré style.
9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox, 1/19)
This spin-off of 9-1-1, the LA-based procedural about the lives of first responders, stars Rob Lowe, a New York firefighter and member of the coastal elite, who moves—obviously—to Texas, where he butts heads with chief paramedic Liv Tyler.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Season 3 (Netflix, 1/24)
You know which teenage witch. And she’s about to travel to hell. Let nostalgia reign.
Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer (Amazon Prime, 1/31)
See: Surviving R. Kelly II.
