I have no knowledge of the source material for this show, so came to it as I found it – via some positive feedback online. This season sees the two friends working as rose farmers, and when that drops out they are quick to take an offer from Hap's ex to help her find a sunken car which supposedly contains stolen money from years ago. Seems simple enough, but the relationships within the group soon make the job a lot more complex.
Truth be told there is no great new show here, and it is not going to blow anyone's minds, but it is consistently enjoyable and happy to be what it is and where it is. The show captures the heat of the place, and the time-period reasonably well; I'm not sure I buy all the characters in the show though, in terms of their interrelations and motivations. The flash-back sections to the show are mostly not that good – they add some narrative context but are mainly not really effective at deepening the characters. Credit to the show for trying this, but really it is better when it lets the characters be what they are in the moment and just let the show be a tough and comedic southern noir.
When it does this the cast take to it well. Purefoy and Williams are both good, and good together. Simpson and McIntosh seem dropped in from a totally different show for too much of the season – they work by adding danger and blood to the narrative, and Simpson is always reliable, but it could have been dialed back a little bit. Hendricks is good but her character is not; she is asked to do a lot that she doesn't have time or material to flesh it out – the complexity is there in her actions, but the flash-backs and the occasional sad stare is not enough. The supporting cast are good enough to do the job. Production standards are high, with good use of locations and the whole construct does sell its own internal logic.
Just a solid, enjoyable show then, with the good performances and strong sense of tone making it work. Looking forward to the second season.
Truth be told there is no great new show here, and it is not going to blow anyone's minds, but it is consistently enjoyable and happy to be what it is and where it is. The show captures the heat of the place, and the time-period reasonably well; I'm not sure I buy all the characters in the show though, in terms of their interrelations and motivations. The flash-back sections to the show are mostly not that good – they add some narrative context but are mainly not really effective at deepening the characters. Credit to the show for trying this, but really it is better when it lets the characters be what they are in the moment and just let the show be a tough and comedic southern noir.
When it does this the cast take to it well. Purefoy and Williams are both good, and good together. Simpson and McIntosh seem dropped in from a totally different show for too much of the season – they work by adding danger and blood to the narrative, and Simpson is always reliable, but it could have been dialed back a little bit. Hendricks is good but her character is not; she is asked to do a lot that she doesn't have time or material to flesh it out – the complexity is there in her actions, but the flash-backs and the occasional sad stare is not enough. The supporting cast are good enough to do the job. Production standards are high, with good use of locations and the whole construct does sell its own internal logic.
Just a solid, enjoyable show then, with the good performances and strong sense of tone making it work. Looking forward to the second season.
