In short, for the TL;DR crowd, this is True Detective Down under.
I wanted to check this show out because of Fimmel and he again delivered with the acting. I was hoping he didn't run into snakes in this show.
It took me 4 days to watch 6 episodes and that is a sign. Not that it's bad, but it's more like a wedding cake; Delicious but after 1, max 2 pieces your body needs time to digest.
It is slow with a mediocre start and great middle part, but a rather disappointing ending. They set up a long story along the way, so I'll check out the next season, but the payoff was a little meh. I don't mind it being a slow burner but when you introduce new facts in the 5th episode, have story lines end up in complete duds and have to rely on a few coincidences you lose marks in my book.
if 0 is a stupid American cop show, where you can guess who did it by betting on the 1 guest actor who can actually act
and
10 is a British mini series where you have to go read 2 Wikipedia entries and watch a 20 min YouTube video to figure out who did it, AFTER the actor explained it on the show.
Then this is a 6.
This is more for people who like Drama about sensitive subjects than for amateur sleuths. I gave it a 6 BUT with potential.
It's not easy to describe this without giving away spoilers so excuse me if I'm sometimes vague. This is a mystery-drama. You get that 1 WTF moment in the pilot and each episode you learn something more about it. To fill in the episodes they use truckloads of drama. 5 main characters in the main story and 2 characters in the side story.
Simmons does an excellent job in the mystery department and is very strong supporting the drama where Spacek rules. Both maybe give us one of their top 5 best performances ever. The supporting actors also win you over in a way that even the very tough topics like growing old and dependent, depression and family bonds get mixed in without it becoming a downer for the viewer.
The writing is excellent and keeps you guessing, it hints but then turns out different as you expected without losing credibility. Of course you'll have to suspend reality a bit for the mystery aspect but the show respects the rules it sets.
Because of the pace and the chosen topics I don't think this will score with teenagers but people with some life experience will be able to relate much better. You've seen shows like this before but never with this quality of writing or acting.
I'm a bit late to the party but I finally came around to watching both seasons. From what I read it reminded me of the movie Kids (1995) but this time for my son's generation.
It's a high quality drama that doesn't shy away from the tough aspects of present day teen life. The story arc of Rue ( Zendaya ) is mainly focused on loss and the mental health and opioid epidemic. Amazing acting from her where she really wins you over with a kind of Will Smith likeability and then switches to a really convincing drug fiend.
Another great arc is that of Jules. Instead of the usual trans pity party we just get to see her character in a love triangle where one of the players just happens to be in transition. This allows you to know her not only as a trans woman and all the issues that come with it, but also leaves room for the silly, funny and romantic . I think her performance was at least on par with Zendaya's and I really think it'll help create more acceptance with people who aren't personally involved in a trans person's life.
I also liked the arc for Lexi and Kat but the latter almost disappears in the second season. Wasted chance because the online life of teens offers something new we didn't have in the nineties.
However the show also makes it clear that the current woke movement is very selective and at times absurd. On one side it is so woke that for example a parody of sleeping beauty needs a consent form from the "prince" and on another the show uses sex and nudity on a level that's damn near exploitative. As a European I'm not easily shocked but at times it feels like they are using every opportunity to show you a penis, but almost never female full frontal, even if the situation calls for it. In a certain scene everybody is ordered to strip and all the guys get naked but only one woman. It's just weird, especially since we have the body acceptance movement . Maybe that was removed due to MeToo ? Of course most of us know easier ways to see nudity, but you don't bring balance by going completely overboard to the other side.
Last example is the type of relations they show : from asexual to pansexual and every flavor in between. I don't mind diversity until you realize that the only heterosexual relationships they show are either classified as "Toxic" or "Boring". Is it that much to ask to show one (1) household with 2 parents or at least make 1 father not a complete psycho, ghost or a junkie.
Representation is indeed very important and in the past it was all geared towards white guys, but there are still white boys being born who also need a role model. Again you can't correct the mistakes of the past by making new ones in the opposite direction.
I can't wait for season 3 and i can highly recommend it but I sure am glad the entire PC movement was only just starting when I was a teenager. "sounding like a twitter thread" sure sounds like a lot of work.
