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Premieres on Sunday, December 6, 2020 @ 10 PM ET on Showtime. Starring Bryan Cranston, Hope Davis, Stuhlbarg, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Carmen Ejogo, & Amy Landecker.
57 on Metacritic with 20 reviews in, which doesn’t inspire the most confidence. The trailer was fantastic though, and it’s Cranston, so he’s in the running for awards consideration until he’s not. I’ll watch the pilot regardless to judge for myself.
Trailer link:
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ReplyEpisode Title: “Part One”
Synopsis: When his teenage son Adam is involved in a tragic accident, New Orleans Judge Michael Desiato is faced with an impossible decision that will impact his family forever, test the bonds with his oldest friend Charlie and put a strain on Adam’s secret relationship with girlfriend Frannie. Dangerous crime lord Jimmy Baxter and his wife Gina Baxter’s birthday gift puts their son Rocco on a collision course with tragedy.
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ReplyCopy URLThrilling pilot. The inciting accident was the centerpiece of the episode, and could possibly be the defining moment of the series. Bryan Cranston was mostly reactive here, but he’s such a compelling screen presence that you can’t take your eyes off of anything he does. I hope that this does a deep dive on the full extent of white privilege and its implications, particularly setting this story in New Orleans. Michael Stulhbarg and Hope Davis didn’t get much to do, but their few scenes were impactful. I wonder how long the cover-up can maintain itself before starting to unravel. 10 episodes sounds excessive, and even now there’s leaps in storytelling and logic that I guess we’re supposed to go with as the audience and hope for more clarification later. I’m definitely intrigued, so let’s see where this goes.
ReplyCopy URLThis was a very good start. The reviews all said the first 15 minutes were excellent, and they were. I can understand why folks feel the show and premise are derivative, but so far it’s at least very well executed. I also think the relentless comparisons to Breaking Bad are unfair––similar, perhaps, in its downward moral spiral, but you’d think Your Honor is the only other cable series show a protagonist making questionable ethical choices. We’ll see if it gets bogged down with ridiculous plot twists and implausibilities, but I’m at least engaged for now.
ReplyCopy URLFormerly known as PianoMann.
I liked the first episode though I must admit this is the fourth show I’ve watched this year with the same premise of upper middle class white people committing crimes or having relatives committed crimes and how their seemingly perfect lives are now disrupted by this and how everyone’s secrets are coming out.
ReplyCopy URLThe twists and turns of this episode kept coming, so maybe the series can sustain itself for ten episodes without failing off the cliff or becoming too ridiculous. I guess that remains to be seen. Bryan Cranston is fantastic. Sometimes the wheels turning in his head as Michael kept trying to cover up for Adam became a bit too Heisenberg-ish, but I’m still engaged with it. This episode took a big swing with giving some needed commentary on the stain of white privilege and police corruption that I was hoping to see from last week. Of course, Kofi checks all the boxes of who should be the perpetrator of the crime according to this narrow view of things, while Adam gets to sail by unscathed until he hopefully doesn’t. Hunter Doohan is striking here, though sometimes he’s so stunted and wounded bird that it becomes annoying to watch. I’m also not looking forward to Adam’s eye-rolling “A Teacher” storyline that’s hinted at happening. Like, no thanks. Michael Stulhbarg projects menace with precision and ease. Hope Davis hasn’t been given much of anything to do yet, which is disappointing. The reviews say that she gets some key Lady Macbeth-type scenes later in the series, so yay for that. Nice introductions for Carmen Ejogo’s and Amy Landecker’s characters as well.
ReplyCopy URLNot the worst thing in the world but it does feel grim for its own sake and has that issue a lot of these types of stories have where it needs its characters to constantly be making bad decisions in order to propel the story forward.
But I’m really liking Cranston and Stuhlbarg so I’ll stick with it.
ReplyCopy URLA pattern I’m finding with the show is how much it wants to wring tension out of the fear of an innocent Black kid being beaten, raped, killed, what have you. Which feels sort of tasteless. But I also think Lamar Johnson does a good job of elevating Kofi to something better than just a body to be abused to make a point. I see he’s done a few films and shows before but I’d like to see him a lot more.
ReplyCopy URLMostly filler episode, which makes me somewhat down on this series being ten episodes instead of maybe six or less. I agree that Lamar Johnson is a compelling presence that draws you into Kofi’s plight in a way I don’t find with Hunter Doohan. I’m so fed up with Adam’s nonsense that I can barely stand seeing his character doing one stupid thing after another stupid thing. Bryan Cranston carries the series beautifully. Isiah Whitlock, Jr. and Carmen Ejogo are starting to get more material to work with, as well as Hope Davis. Her character is still underwritten, but there’s a few glimpses of something there.
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