Not quite a year after the excellent
Justified left the air, a new drama takes us back into the hollers and
wilds of Kentucky. OUTSIDERS, which premiered last night on
WGN America,
is the story of a small town and the feral Farrells who inhabit the
mountain beside it. While civilization and tribal culture have existed
peacefully beside one another for two centuries, modernity is moving in
from the outside, which threatens to shake up everything.
The Farrells themselves have an
interesting culture. Led by the current “Brennan,” Lady Ray (Phyllis
Somerville, The Big C), they brew their own moonshine, abhor money,
marry cousins, and yet seem to get along pretty well. Sure, they go into
town and steal things occasionally, but the locals have learned to put
up with it, partially out of fear, and partially because the clan knows
the limits of what they can get away with. A few, like Hasil (Kyle
Gallner, Veronica Mars), push boundaries from time to time, such as when
he tries to take up with a non-Farrell, Sally Ann (Christina Jackson,
Boardwalk Empire), but mostly, they know their place. So it has been for
two hundred years, and so it shall continue, or so some hope.
But the status quo is shifting as Big
Foster (David Morse, Treme) seeks to take the leadership mantle from his
mother, even after Lady Ray is reluctant to give it to him. When one of
their own, Asa (Joe Anderson, Hannibal), returns from the outside with
new knowledge and skills, there becomes a choice as to who the Farrells
should be listening to. Events conspire to shift loyalties of some one
way and some the other, and suddenly there’s a decision to make instead
of a guaranteed line of succession.
This is where OUTSIDERS begins, with a
people on the precipice of change. It will take someone strong to usher
then into a new era, someone who understands the parties involved, but
can see beyond petty feuds and backward traditions. It could be Asa, who
has shunned the rest of the world after living apart from his family
for unknown reasons. But if it’s not him, it’s not certain who else it
could be.
In Justified, there was a lawman who
kept the hill people in line enough. OUTSIDERS has its own deputy, Wade
Houghton (Thomas M. Wright, The Bridge), but he’s far from another
Raylan Givens. Instead, Wade is beset by his own demons, and may just be
the person in town most terrified of confronting the Farrells. Which is
too bad because, pushed to do so by the coal companies, Wade’s boss
assigns him the unenviable task of evacuating the mountain.
OUTSIDERS is fascinating because of the
various personalities it portrays, some of which will seem rooted in
folklore more than reality to potential viewers. Yet, even with the
superstitions present, the series is pretty solidly grounded by terrific
performances and an interesting, natural story (more reality-driven
than the network’s Salem). Perhaps most of those displaced by industry
aren’t as violently resistant as the Farrells are bound to be, but it’s
certainly a scenario that has played out in some form or another in
numerous areas of the country.
I find little to complain about this show.
WGN America
is getting a reputation of shining a spotlight into dark corners of
American culture and doing it well, and OUTSIDERS is a part of that
proud tradition. It won’t appeal to everyone, to be sure, but it makes
for good, quality television that many will enjoy if they just know
where to look for it,
WGN America not being a channel the majority of viewers typically keep an eye on. I recommend making the effort to check this one out.
OUTSIDERS airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on
WGN America. If you missed the first episode, it repeats numerous times
throughout the week. Check your listings.
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