Wild ANIMAL KINGDOM?

Article first published as ANIMAL KINGDOM Review on Seat42F.

TNT’s new drama ANIMAL KINGDOM, based on the little-seen 2010 film of the same name, is about a crime family. Like any show about a crime family, there’s the strong leader, in this case a matriarch, several brothers of various levels of competency, the relation that has spent time behind bars, and the fresh-faced kid who viewers and characters alike will wonder how far in they can be drawn before they start to seem like everyone else. And these people will get into new scrapes together that constantly put them in danger and mess with the clan dynamics, while more or less maintaining status quo.

The matriarch in this series is Janine “Smurf” Cody (the fantastic Ellen Barkin, The New Normal). Janine maintains a house where her grown sons are welcome to hang out and party, which seems a little strange, considering how much nudity ends up being involved. Janine has four children, twins Pope (Shawn Hatosy, Southland) and Julia, reckless Craig (Ben Robson, Vikings), and affection-seeking Deran (Jake Weary, It Follows). Perhaps not finding any of her children competent enough to take over the business, she also adopted Baz (Scott Speedman, Felicity, Underworld) when he was twelve, and he is now the de-facto leader of the children.

The story really begins, though, when Julia, who has been estranged from the Codys for a decade, dies of an overdose. Janine immediately takes in Julia’s seventeen year-old, J (Finn Cole, Peaky Blinders), which upsets at least a couple of her sons, unsure if they can trust J around their illicit activities. Add to this, Pope shortly thereafter returns home after three years spent behind bars, and the finely-tuned system Janine has becomes unbalanced a bit.

The main drives revolve around J and Pope, which makes sense, considering they are the new elements. J is a very familiar protagonist, the outsider thrust into the strange world, but keeps his cards close enough to his chest that viewers will wonder whether or not he approves of what his family is doing. Pope is even less predictable, seeming to have some serious mental imbalance. As such, there is probably enough steam in these two threads to push the first season through easily enough.

Perhaps to add some much-needed estrogen to the proceedings, ANIMAL KINGDOM has two other female characters besides Janine: Baz’s baby mama, Catherine (Daniella Alonso, Revolution), and J’s girlfriend, Nicky (Molly Gordon, I Am Sam). Sadly, they aren’t used much; at least not yet. Catherine does have some friction with Janine, but that is barely touched upon in the pilot. Nicky seems to exist solely as a tool the Codys can use against J.

The plot in the first episode is secondary to getting to know the characters. A lot of time is spent dwelling on their various relationships and existing life, presumably to establish a baseline before things change too much and to get the audience used to the players involved. There is a bit of action, but no real threat or danger in the initial hour. I assume that will appear in the coming weeks.

I like ANIMAL KINGDOM, but I don’t love it. The concept is both familiar and decently executed, with a fine ensemble cast who can handle what’s required of them. My hesitation is that it might not show us anything we haven’t seen before, and the characters are a lot less complex than those on the higher-tier cable networks such as FX, AMC, and HBO. I think ANIMAL KINGDOM will definitely be enjoyable, but I do not see it being a serious contender for major awards or to be a “must-see” show.

ANIMAL KINGDOM premieres Tuesday, June 14^th on TNT.

CBS Gets RECKLESS

Article first published as RECKLESS Review on Seat42F.

CBS has a new crime series, which premiered tonight, called RECKLESS. Masquerading as a typical cop or lawyer show, it’s a combination of both, mixed with a heavy dose of soapy drama. There are short-run cases, such as the one in the pilot, but there is also a bigger arc involving a departmental scandal which will likely play out over the course of the summer. Everyone has secrets, and the draw will be in wondering what twist will come next.

RECKLESS is not a high-quality show. You won’t find many of those on the broadcast networks, and certainly not during the summer. But it’s a smart move for CBS to move beyond standard procedurals and try something more salacious, a la ABC, especially during the warm months when many TVs are turned off. I do wonder why the network chose Sundays to air it, though, since that’s the night of the week with the most competition, and while RECKLESS is enjoyable, it’s doubtful it can compete with the likes of True Blood and Falling Skies.

On most shows these days, the police are the good guys. We might find a bad seed or two among the contingent, but rarely is there a widespread issue within the force, unless it’s a really meaty, intense drama, which this show is not. RECKLESS is different in that most of the boys in blue in Charleston are not on the up and up. Whether sleeping with fellow officers or covering up for their buddies that do, there is much to loathe in this unit, and little to admire.

The main thread kicks off when Lee Ann Marcus (Georgina Haig, Fringe) decides to break up with her boyfriend, fellow officer Terry McCandless (Shawn Hatosy, Southland). Terry isn’t happy about this and shares some of Lee Ann’s dirty photos and such, which were sent through departmental communications. Their boss, Holland Knox (Michael Gladis, Mad Men), fires Lee Ann, but only lightly reprimands Terry. Feeling discriminated against, Lee Ann seeks the representation of lawyer Jamie Sawyer (Anna Wood, Deception).

Jamie is the main woman we’re supposed to root for, but she’s not exactly pure. She thinks nothing of bending, or even outright breaking, the rules in order to win her case. She may have noble intentions, or so we’re left to assume, but that doesn’t mean she can’t get in trouble, and perhaps she should. Even when she is framed for a minor crime in this episode, one has to wonder if she’s just serving time for something else she did but didn’t get caught.

There is room for some debate over RECKLESS’s portrayal of women. Lee Ann steps across the line of her own free will, and her punishment is justified. The problem at hand is that the rules are not applied equally across the board. The good ol’ boys of the south stick together and feel above the law. So in a situation where no one has done right, can we blame one party more than the other? Yes, but not completely, making it hard to really care about too many of the players.

Of course, besides all the legal and cop stuff, there’s plenty of room for romance. Jamie smolders whenever she encounters city attorney Roy Rayder (Cam Gigandet, The O.C.), but she also has regular hookups with Preston Cruz (Adam Rodriguez, CSI: Miami), who dons the uniform. Jamie can’t help but shit where she eats, like most TV characters, and so causes much of her own trouble.

If you’re looking for a sexy guilty pleasure show that’s entertaining but doesn’t make you think too hard, RECKLESS should fit that bill fine. That it’s a notch or two better than CBS’s regular season fare, The Good Wife excepted, may surprise and impress, but it still runs behind its cable counterparts.

RECKLESS airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.

Southland returns on TNT

     Southland was a gritty cop show set in Los Angeles that aired on NBC last spring for seven episodes.  Although it was initially renewed for a thirteen episode second season, the premiere date in the fall was pushed back, and then the show was abruptly canceled, without the final six filmed episodes ever seeing the light of day.  Part of the reason the show was pulled was because of its dark tone.  The direction of the series also changed for the second season, focusing more on Adams, Sherman, and their partners, giving less importance to the rest of the ensemble.  It was also to be more procedural, less serial, than before.

     Beginning tonight at ten p.m., TNT will air all thirteen filmed episodes.  Depending on how the ratings go, perhaps they may even order more.  Though an extension has not yet been announced, TNT owns the rights to do so.  The episodes will air in production order, starting with an extended version (by about six minutes) of the pilot.  As of March 2nd, the show will have exhausted the already aired episodes, and begin showing new ones, for those fans who have already seen the first seven.  TNT has also restored language that was cut due to broadcast content standards that cable is not constrained by.

     The series stars Regina King (24), Benjamin McKenzie (The O.C.), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do), and Michael Cudlitz (Band of Brothers) as the aforementioned partners.  Also starring are Kevin Alejandro (Shark), Arija Bareikis, Shawn Hatosy, and Michael McGrady (Day Break).  The show is not really my cup of tea, but if you enjoyed it last spring, this is all very good news for you.  It definitely stood apart from other cop dramas currently on television.

     SPOILER ALERT!  Although I have not yet been sent the new episodes, I can reveal that Ben will have to face dealing with John's pain medication addiction, Chickie will be ostracized by the other cops, Lydia will have trouble balancing her personal life and her job, and Sammy will feel left out when he and Nate join a drug task force with Gil, an old friend of Nate's.  Sammy also will be trying to have a baby, and Mercedes will not be very accepting of Nate as her father, which will end up causing something really bad.  Sal's daughter will manipulate him, black mailing him after she finds out about his affair.  These are but a few of the details already released about upcoming episodes.