Article first published as KING & MAXWELL Review on Seat42F.
Grade: 82%
Grade: 82%
TNT’s KING & MAXWELL is the
newest crime drama from the cable network. In the vein of such series as
Rizzoli & Isles, Castle, Bones, Psych, and Franklin & Bash, two
charismatic leads break the rules and go outside the law to put
together clues that most people would overlook and solve the case of the
week. Basically, it’s your typical, formulaic, procedural.
Rebecca Romijn (X-Men, NTSF:SD:SUV)
plays Michelle Maxwell, a messy, pushy woman. Her partner, Sean King
(Jon Tenney, The Closer), is much neater and more logical, but also has
an ornery streak, as he likes to push her buttons. They have that
familiar chemistry where viewers expect them to fall into bed
eventually, but the writers will put off such a pairing as long as
possible to keep the dynamic going. Of course they bicker and annoy each
other, but it’s merely cover for their true feelings.
Both KING & MAXWELL are former
Secret Service agents. They did not serve together, and left the force
for different reasons. But this gives them the needed skills and
intelligence for their current careers as a pair of private
investigators. King is also a lawyer, which comes in handy when the
series needs the law quoted or a closer relationship with a client or
suspect.
Of course, there must be more for the
titular couple to overcome than a few perps, so KING & MAXWELL
tosses in Frank Rigby (Michael O’Keefe, Michael Clayton) and Darius
Carter (Chris Butler, The Good Wife). Rigby and Carter are by-the-book
FBI agents who are none too happy when the PIs intrude on their work.
Predictably, Carter and Rigby fail to catch the bad guy on their own,
and so KING & MAXWELL prove their worth, much to the FBI’s
displeasure.
If all of what you’re read so far sounds
rote and boring, you’ll get an idea of what it’s like watching the
show. It’s not bad, per se, as the leads handle themselves capably
enough, and the supporting players serve their purpose. It’s just an
unoriginal, uninspired premise that has been done to death on
television. Between CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, TNT, earlier-this-decade USA, we
don’t need any more cop or lawyer shows. They all feel the same. Even
the banter between the leads, as fun as it is, doesn’t break any new
ground.
This means that KING & MAXWELL will
be a fine light-weight series, with installments viewers can drop in on
at their leisure, not necessarily necessary to see each and every
episode to understand what’s going on. This type of program seems to be
quite popular with viewers these days, even if it’s a total turn-off for
critics, the junk food version of TV that too much of can cause a tummy
ache. So it may do decently well if fans can connect with the leads. I
don’t see why that would be a problem, given their good performances.
The extra element that KING &
MAXWELL tosses in as an attempt to set itself apart is the fifth series
regular, Edgar Roy (Ryan Hurst, Sons of Anarchy). Introduced as a
brilliant convicted serial killer with no social skills, and with enough
hints to let us assume he may very well be innocent, Roy isn’t the
focus of the show, so doesn’t copy Dexter or Hannibal.
Unfortunately, Roy is barely in the
“Pilot,” at least before the “twist” ending, so it’s hard to know
exactly what his role in the show will be. Is he just a sympathetic
friend KING & MAXWELL take in because they feel sorry for him, or
will he be a valuable part of their crime-fighting team? The latter more
than the former, surely, but we’ll have to wait and see. Or some
viewers will have to wait and see, because after watching the “Pilot,” I
don’t care enough to find out.
KING & MAXWELL premieres Monday, June 10th at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.