How about a quick look at I Am the Night, Whiskey Cavalier, and Good Trouble? I have a few random thoughts to share today.
I Am the Night
I had high hopes for the truth-based I Am the Night, but I haven’t found it as exciting as I thought I might. Chris Pine stars as a reporter whose spidey senses are atingle about the Black Dahlia murder. He meets Fauna Hodel (India Eisley). Fauna is searching for the truth about her parents. She discovered her mother is actually Tamar Hodel (Jamie Anne Allman) and her grandfather is George Hodel (Jefferson Mays). George Hodel was implicated in the Black Dahlia murder years ago, but never convicted. Hence the interest from the reporter.
Although the series hasn’t been as powerful as I hoped, Chris Pine has given an exceptional performance as a war veteran with PTSD, a dissolute drunk of a reporter, and a brilliant investigator when he sobers up. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him earn award noms for this role.
Whiskey Cavalier
The pilot episode of Whiskey Cavalier was lighthearted while action packed. It featured Scott Foley as a strangely emotion-laden FBI agent and Lauren Cohan as a hard-nosed CIA agent.
I’m not sure how long the role reversal conceit of the empathetic man and the tough-as-nails woman will hold up, but it played well in the pilot. The series deserves credit for trying something new instead of rinsing and repeating with older ideas.
The two leading faces are white, but I was happy to see Ana Ortiz, Vir Das, and Tyler James Williams in what look like recurring roles.
Good Trouble
Cierra Ramirez and Maia Mitchell take the lead in Good Trouble, with an occasional visit from someone from The Fosters family, such as their brother played by Noah Centineo who came to visit this week.
This show is terrific. With Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige at the helm, it has all the same quality earmarks as The Fosters: hard-hitting topics, moral dilemmas, relationships, and socially relevant themes like women in the workplace.
I love the nonlinear storytelling. It’s small things out of order, almost like memories or flashbacks. The nonlinear sequences are confined within an episode. They add tension and interest.
Women directing in season 1 include Troian Bellisario, Laura Nisbet, and Kelli Williams. While not half of the 14 episodes are women directed, it’s a start.
Are you watching any of these current TV series? What do you think of them?