American Crime

This series is undoubtedly one of the best series we have right now.

Season 1 wasn't everyone's cup of tea. But, it highlighted so much that I've never seen on television before and was arguably one of the best scripted and acted series of 2015.

Season 2 is on a whole other level. Just a few episodes in and this series shows how all series should follow-up to previous acclaim. This season has one of the most original and intriguing plots I've seen in ages. I predict this season will also earn several Emmy nominations.

What really stands out in this series other than its acting and script, is that it greatly focuses on race, gender and gender roles, sexuality, drugs, wealth, power and status.

American Crime focuses on the people surrounding a criminal case and the difficulties that they go through rather than the actual crime or criminal investigation itself. While I understand the merits of this and appreciate it the point they're trying to make, the fact of the matter is that I want to know the outcome. I want to know what happened. The acting is great and the series is well written (probably too good for network television though) but it's a let down getting to the end of the season having no idea what actually happened. The series doesn't need to focus on the investigation or be a police procedural to give the viewer a but more payoff at the end. We can struggle with the families of crime victims and ultimately learn the truth/see how things turn out without losing the main message of the show.

Just finished season 3 after finding the other two years on Netflix. Simply the best network drama series (ABC) in years if not decades. Brutally honest portrayal of moral dilemmas in American life. Writing, acting and directing are superb. Warning: No Hollywood endings.

Life doesn't happen in neat chapters where one part of the story wraps up neatly and then moves on to another. Life doesn't present its main characters always with perfectly coiffed hair and Hollywood-style makeup. And that's exactly why I'm really liking American Crime. It's a slice of life - a very sad and often confusing slice of life. American Crime festers in the dark side. It brings out the worst in humanity ... so far. I imagine as the series gets further along, there will be changes that come with plot revelations and character development. I'm enjoying the well-thought out plot so expertly put into words, the richness of the acting that brings that script to life and the occasionally brilliant and always good cinematography. The score by Mark Isham contributes just he right tension without becoming overbearing or, like so many other productions, just too loud. I can't think of a thing missing. This is the formula for a very, very good TV crime series. I hope each episode is as good as the first two that I so much enjoyed.

If one adheres to the belief that art reveals some critical aspect of being human, then American Crime is one of the best pieces of art I've ever seen in a network television series. The title may mislead viewers into expectations of a high-octane cop procedural; those anticipating such will be disappointed. Just like Breaking Bad (without the violence) American Crime operates on a much deeper, psychologically-taut, gut-wrenching level. It burrows into the souls of its characters, depicting each as they react to and evolve from a single murder committed in Modesto, California.

Described without spoilers, the series begins after the fact, immediately introducing us to eight main characters touched directly by the crime and who are bluntly stereotyped by race, religion, familial position, lifestyle or psychological make-up. They react according to type but as facts of the murder emerge, the burden of carrying these conventions under such inconceivable circumstances forces each character to evolve from type or submerge more deeply and desperately within it.

To say that American Crime reveals how messy life really is would be trite, a whopping understatement. These are extremely diverse characters, linked by a singular event and inflicted with raw, immense pain. They are extraordinarily fleshed out by the likes of Felicity Huffman, Timothy Hutton, Penelope Ann Miller, Benito Martinez and the always underrated but extremely gifted W. Earl Brown (Dan Dority from Deadwood, for a television reference).

Creator John Ridley wisely chose to develop the series anthologically; like True Detective, the characters draw viewers into a world most never see and while the journey is richly satisfying, it is also so wholly unsettling that one can't imagine it continuing through 12 episodes, season after season.