Too HARD SUN

Article first published as TV Review: HARD SUN on Seat42F.

Hulu premiered all six episodes of a new drama called HARD SUN last week. A co-production with the BBC, HARD SUN follows two cops in a pre-apocalyptic world. Yes, pre-, not post-. An event known only as “hard sun” (hence the title of the show) is being kept secret by the government, even though it predicts an extinction-level event in a mere five years time. As more people begin to find out about it and react, our heroes not only have to continue to do their jobs keeping the peace, but they also get drawn into the conspiracy coverup.

HARD SUN sounds like a really neat idea. After all, so much time has been spent examining how people would deal with the aftermath of a big event. It’s cool to finally get into the psychology of how they would react when the disaster is looming, but has not yet arrived. Painting it as a secret that leaks out and is, at first, only believed by conspiracy nuts makes it all the more intriguing because the series can take its time getting around to various types of people reacting differently to the news.

The problem is, HARD SUN doesn’t really delve into the psychiatry so much as uses it as a distraction from the main story. Several of the six hours are mostly made up of our leads trying to catch a bad guy doing something horrible because he (always he) believes the world is ending. This could be very interesting if the focus wasn’t just on catching him, or if there were more variation in the execution. But despite some good guest star turns here, these stories are mostly unsatisfying and seem to just be in the way of getting back to the plot most viewers will care more about. This is the way a 22-episode network season would stretch things out; it doesn’t work for a six-episode short season.

The through line story is pretty good, but HARD SUN spends too much time ignoring it. DCI Charlie Hicks (Jim Sturgess, Feed the Beast) is a complicated man. He cares deeply for people and wants to protect them, and has done some pretty bad things while pursuing that goal. His new partner, DI Elaine Renko (Agyness Deyn, Hail, Caesar!), is put in place specifically to catch him, until she bonds with him during their duties. She also has her own issues, with a violent son she loves, despite the fact that he tried to kill her. This baggage is pretty inconvenient when Hicks and Renko have to spend so much time avoiding would-be assassins from MI5, in particular Grace Morrigan (Nikki Amuka-Bird, Luther).

That is a LOT of story just for our two leads, so having to watch them do their jobs around it is too much. HARD SUN should have just focused on the complex set of circumstances they built, and if we saw Hicks and Renko working at all, keep it to routine duties or a single case, not extra-complicated serial killers.

I admit, I was caught up in HARD SUN, watching all six hours before sitting down to write this review. Part of the reason I waited was to see if the end paid off the time spent slogging through the middle hours. It does, with bright promise for a second season, should one be ordered. But that doesn’t change the criticism above, which still stands upon completion. I expected a bit more from writer Neil Cross, who is best known for his excellent British crime series, Luther.

Also, HARD SUN is very graphically violent. If that bothers you, you might want to skip it.

HARD SUN season one is available now on Hulu.

Should You FEED THE BEAST?

Article first published as FEED THE BEAST Review on Seat42F.

I’m used to automatically loving pretty much any series that premieres on AMC. There are exceptions, Turn being one of them, but few, with the network definitely one of the top three for original content right now (along with HBO and FX). The newest offering, FEED THE BEAST, doesn’t equal the best of AMC, but it’s not a total dud.

The story of FEED THE BEAST revolves around two best friends. Tommy Moran (David Schwimmer, Friends, American Crime Story) is a single father who just cannot get past the loss of his wife, Rie (Christine Adams, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). What this means is he’s struggling to help his son, TJ (Elijah Jacob), who hasn’t spoken since witnessing his mother’s death, and Tommy, a sommelier by trade, has made wine his abusive crutch. His pal, Dion Patras (Jim Sturgess, 21, Across the Universe), is fresh out of jail after burning down a mobster’s restaurant. Said mobster, Patrick “The Tooth Fairy” Woijchik (Michael Gladis, Mad Men), is willing to give Dion a chance to make it up to him, providing Dion stays in town and starts paying.

And so, Dion convinces Tommy they should open the Greek restaurant they’ve always dreamed of, despite the fact that Tommy doesn’t want to do it without Rie. This is a second chance for them both, one that gets off on shaky footings and lies, but one they both need with a partner they, for better or worse, trust. And a threatening presence in the shadows wants them to succeed for his own reasons.

FEED THE BEAST is not exactly breaking new ground. How many series have we seen that a good-hearted criminal is blackmailed into doing something and lies to a friend to get help doing it? Even the extra complexities tossed in, Tommy having to approach his estranged father, Aidan (John Doman, Gotham, The Affair), for financial help, and a woman at grief counselling, Pilar (Lorenza Izzo, Knock Knock), clearly not being who she says she is, are tropes at this point. If you watch any amount of complex cable dramas, you’ve seen this before.

Yet, the acting and direction is good enough to overlook that, at least initially. The dark tone and messy dwelling full of expensive restaurant gear is cool. Schimmer knows how to play whiny and messed up, so he fits the character well. Sturgess does crazy with aplomb, and his druggie ex- and current con is nothing of not eccentric. Alone, they both excel.

Where it doesn’t hold up for me is how it all comes together. FEED THE BEAST has a lot of good elements, from its stars to the production design, but they don’t feel like a wholly authentic world when joined. Dion comes across as too crazy for Tommy to be so trusting of. Tommy comes across as too screwed up to still be functioning as well as he is, holding a job, even if it’s not the one he wants. The relationship between the two doesn’t feel realized, Tommy being happy to see Dion one minute and angrily accusing him of things the next. The chemistry between them just isn’t there.

So what we’re left with is a decent show with some really great elements that ends up being a little less full and cohesive than what I’m looking for. Some of this could just be early episode stumbling, but that sort of thing is a lot more common on the broadcast networks, that rush through a hectic schedule, than the cable dramas, which tend to take their time, so it’s harder to chalk it up to that. It’s good enough that I’d like to keep watching, but not good enough that I’m committing to the season. Yet.

FEED THE BEAST premiered last night, and settles into its normal slot Tuesday at 10/9c on AMC.