The Latest Star To Commit To Crime Drama? Jennifer Lopez

They’re all getting in on the act! News reaches us that global pop star and sometime actress Jennifer Lopez is to star in a new US detective series. No offence to Pixie Lott, but her recent guest appearance in Inspector George Gently doesn’t really compare to this news. The obvious conclusion you would make from a J-Lo crime drama is that it’d be called Jenny From The Bronx, but no. Read on for more details…

What To Watch This Week (Monday 24th February – Friday 28th February)

Welcome to another week. A week of post-True Detective and Salamander come down. But have no fear, it’s a busy one in the world of crime drama, with series finales, returning series and a brand new series of one of the biggest shows on the box. We have The Mentalist and The Blacklist returning, and series finales of Inspector George Gently and Mob City. And then, at the end of the week, we have a certain Duffle-coated mystery solver back in the mix. Read on for more! 

Review: True Detective (S1 E1/8), Saturday 22nd February

Judging by my various timelines on social media, a lot of friends have already caught the True Detective bug. It was a really exciting night last night knowing that a lot of people would stop with the talking and start with the watching. We truly hope that huge amounts of people will be hooked into the series like the Americans are (websites and endless online articles are already hypothesising about the imagery and the mythology) – it once again shows the power of event drama, and another crime drama at that. Of course we’d like to hear what you thought of the opening episode of this masterpiece, but in the meantime here’s what we thought… 

Is Crime Drama Too Obsessed With Death And Murder?

There was a mildly interesting piece in The Daily Mail today (I know, bit of a contradiction), and although it was framed in the usual raging, Middle England-revolts kind of way it did raise a worthwhile question. Boris Starling, who wrote the BBC series Messiah (which was excellent, and chillingly gory I seem to remember) says that he’s fed up with seeing so much death on our screens and that this over-reliance on murder is poisoning crime drama. So what do you think? Is there too much gore and death and awfulness in crime drama?

Interview: Steve Toussaint, Line Of Duty

Like any good drama, Line Of Duty has a strong supporting cast. One of that supporting cast is Steve Toussaint who plays Chief Superintendent Mallick – on the surface a boss we’d all like to have. Kind, supportive and reassuring. But when Lindsay Denton (Keeley Hawes) crossed him and went over his head to disastrous effect, Mallick’s response was cold to say the least. It was bye bye Mr Nice Guy. We spoke to Steve about his role, and why police corruption is an endlessly fascinating subject.

Trailer: True Detective

Don’t you just hate it when people tell you to watch something, or do something, or listen to something? There’s nothing wrong with a bit of sharing and recommending between friends, but some people baulk at the very sight of a bandwagon if the hype gets too much. I’m here to tell you, friends, that whatever you’ve heard about True Detective and if you’re being put off by the amount of people who are frothing over it (me included), don’t listen to them or be influenced negatively. Just watch it and see for yourself how good it is and luxuriate in its addictive magnetism. To our eyes it’s the best thing we’ve seen in a while, already sitting on the top table and breaking bread with our favourites. There are two trailers after the jump to give you a flavour… and that flavour is deep and it’s dark. A bit like triple chocolate ice cream with extra chocolate bits in.

Hannibal marathon and social media event on the horizon

Hannibal is easily one of the most messed up shows we’ve ever seen. We did wonder what a prequel to The Silence Of The Lambs would look like (prequels can be a bit rubbish), but nothing prepared us for just how nightmarish it was. For this series to not only appear on a mainstream US network (it appeared on Sky Living over here) but actually survive (although there were rumours it was going to be canned) is quite some feat. It didn’t do brilliantly in the ratings, but attracted a large cult following and it’s that cult following that allowed it to survive into a second series. Things are going to kick off Stateside in a few weeks with the arrival of series two (it’ll be back over here in the spring), and to mark the occasion NBC – the show’s home network – is celebrating in style.

Trailer: DCI Banks, S3 E4/6

I know I wasn’t that enamoured by episode three of this current series of DCI Banks, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t watch Monday night’s denouement of the latest two-part story. There’s a lot to look forward to – Annie’s relationship with the oily lawyer unravelling even more, seeing how Alan reacts to to it all and, of course, what the murdered investigative journalist’s father (a high-ranking police officer) has got to do with his son’s death. Not only that, but what secrets are the reformed 80s indie band hiding? There’s a trailer waiting for you after the jump…

Crime drama dominates Broadcasting Press Guild Awards

It’s no surprise the know that this year’s serious awards shows are stacked with crime drama nominations. Let’s face it, after the year we’ve had, it’d be a surprise if serious awards show weren’t stacked with crime drama nominations. Digital Spy is reporting that three of our favourites from last year – Broadchurch, The Fall and Top Of The Lake – are dominating the acting, drama and writing categories.

Debra Messing lands detective pilot

Debra Messing, ex of Will & Grace and Smash, has landed the lead role in a new detective procedural called The Mysteries Of Laura. TV Line reports that the pilot – which will air on US network NBC – is based on the Spanish series, Los Mysterios De Laura and follows the life of a homicide detective. Away from the day-job Laura has problems at home with her ‘hell-raising’ twin children. Sounds a bit The Closer to us, but let’s see how this one pans out.