I’m often asked what books, TV shows, and movies I’ve enjoyed…
As a writer, I probably should blog about books, but I’m in the mood to talk about TV because I love TV. Good TV, that is. After a long day of writing, I love getting cozy with a glass of wine, my doggies, and my iPad, while my hubby, Mike, cruises through the TV channels, watching bits of this and that.
Obviously, this will be more than one post because there are a plethora of wonderful, witty, well-written shows out there in the comedy and drama genres. And nowadays, even if you didn’t catch it the first time around, you can find it online.
Most of the time I watch British period dramas, like Downton Abbey. My dear friend, Jeri, got me hooked on those several years ago. But today, I want to talk about a very different kind of show that’s keeping me up way past my bedtime these days. Darn binge watching!
The Killing
Originally broadcast on AMC, then picked up by Netflix in its third season. The entire series, start to finish, is available on Netflix streaming.
Based partly on a popular Danish TV series, “The Killing” is a moody, character-driven detective procedural that weaves a murder mystery through a full season or more. The stories unfold through the eyes of Sarah Linden, a detective with the Seattle Police Department and who, at first, must mentor Detective Stephen Holder, a former narcotics cop. While their backgrounds produce investigative styles that clash — she’s by-the-book, he’s freewheeling — they manage to pull together for the case.
This show is so addictive. The first time this happened to me was when The Sopranos became available on DVD. Mike and I sat down one evening to watch ONE episode. After four episodes, it was after midnight, we were bleary-eyed, and the next day was a work day. So what’d we do? We watched another episode!
Well, that’s what The Killing is doing to me. The writing, casting, acting — all superb. A perfect dark mystery slowly revealing its many layers. Mireille Enos plays the lead, Sarah Linden, and Joel Kinnaman plays Holder. It’s hard to believe that Kinnaman was born in Sweden because his performance as a recovering tweeker-loser is spot-on perfect. The action takes place in Seattle, which as a former resident (eons ago) is fun for me.
My only regret is that I didn’t get Mike going on this. But at least he’s getting his beauty sleep!
