Wicked City

Quite why this has been cancelled, I have no idea!

The premise is simple, a serial killer on the loose and a two focused plot on both the killer and cop chasing him/her! Sounds simple, but made better. Why? Because it doesn't try and complicate the story with interwoven plots (yes, true detective I mean you!), because it is set in an era when serial killers started to gain notoriety, because it doesn't shy from the gruesome aspects of a serial killer and more importantly, that sets it aside from true detective, it gets into the mind frame of the sociopath quality (yes I wrote quality, as its the one thing that sets us all apart, be that bad or good!) of manipulation and total confidence in the act by the said sociopath.

The casting is great, not newbies, but not stellar casting, this makes it convincing from an actor point of view as there is no cheesiness and its believable, the story is really well written, simply because it focuses on the main subject and rarely deviates from the chase, and the setting of the 70's for me at least, means the genre is right at the heart of the time when serial killers started to attain focus on what they did.

In all this is a cleverly scripted TV show and could easily have gone on to spurn multiple series, but for some reason it was cancelled, some cite the brutality of it (it's not that gory), but I expect it's because it's so similar to True Detective, but was made on a lesser budget with less well known actors, that was it's downfall. None the less, this is a well made TV show and deserves a second chance, but only if it is in keeping with what it set out to do...Tell a good story, with no over dramatisation, and using the simple basic methods of script writing...Keep it simple, make the plot believable, and keep the viewer hooked! I am hooked!

I actually was a fan of this show and was disappointed after it was cancelled after only 3 episodes. After watching the whole season I felt it got better with each episode and that the show was delightfully twisted. Has awesome story line and music. Has a great cast and pretty good plot twists included. Overall if another season would've been made I would have watched it with excitement. I find that the whole killer couple was a good idea. This show would definitely want you to watch more. Still sadden by its abrupt cancellation. I believe that it just didn't have the right network backing it up. But had a decent fan base. Hopefully another network or streaming site would get rights too it and make the fans happy.

After 2 episodes, I think this one may turn into a winner--I'm wondering if they might get bogged down in the whole "period piece" thing of the 80's because frankly, I didn't even pick up on that until halfway through the first episode... but the entire second episode put it right in my face. I absolutely love Taissa Farmiga in everything she's done so far, but in this series, her acting is horrible. I don't know whether it's on purpose or not, but she'll say a line and THEN react to it; like, "He tried to kill me..." in a deadpan and then she'll remember she's supposed to look like she's surprised. She's a doll, though.

There's an odd critic backlash against "Wicked City" because of "violence against women". Uhh... it's a show about a detective pursuing a serial killer similar to Hillside Strangler, who targeted women. It is fiction, centered around certain subject matter which alludes to, unfortunately, some real history. And when it comes to actual graphic scenes, they're tame compared to a show like "CSI" or "Bones", never even mind "Dexter". Or "Zodiac". Or "SE7EN".

So what's next, are we gonna hear that "12 Years A Slave" is racist because it shows abuse of African-Americans? Clearly, they've been singled out by that movie! Is that how low the bar has fallen, that we now want to keep storytelling on a politically-correct leash, to strip it of any edge or rawness, dare it not offend anyone? I hope not, because that will be the end.

Compared to your generic procedurals like CSI: CITY or NCIS: CITY, or Hawaii Five-O, this show's pilot was refreshing, it moved along at a brisk pace, and made me actually interested in what happens next.

Compared to throwaway skin-show-for-kids like "Quantico" this show should be a breakaway hit. At least, in a world where critics have taste.

I started watching Wicked City the day after it premiered. It is an interesting concept. I studied serial killers, deviant behavior, psychology in college and I've always been fascinated. The problem is when a show just becomes like every other crime drama on TV. You need something to set yourself apart and unfortunately, this one tries to hard with the sex and violence.

The other problem I had was with the homicide detectives at the scene. For a seasoned detective whose repertoire including the notorious Hillside Strangler, he doesn't know a thing about crime scene protocol. I know it was set in the 80's and there were some continuity errors with the exact date, but starting in the 70's detectives carried gloves to use at crime scenes.

I'll keep watching to see where it goes from here though. I do love a good crime drama.