Hap and Leonard

Take some of the best acting talent one could ask for and a story that keeps you at the edge of your seat. Fun,excitement,comedy,drama and some real out there violence,this has a little of everything. It is hard for anyone not to be entertained.

If you are not someone who can watch over the top violence you might not want to to take this in. But otherwise TV just doesn't get any better.

Sundance needs to advertise better. Like so many others,I just happened to come across this one.

Word of mouth hopeful spread the word.

Season one is on Netflix with season two beginning 3/15/17. 6 eps each. You'll be wantignfor more I suspect.

**** W A R N I N G ***** W A R N I N G ***** W A R N I N G****** To all TV producers/television investors:

If you fund a story that is interesting and incorporate this story with great actors like HAP & Leonard the public will find it, watch and covet it. The Sundance network is now on my radar and I hope it is on other folks as well. I also found another quirky show, a comedy, $hidtt's Creek on the P O P Network, but I digress. Some of the previous reviews are funny; folks trying to rationalize why they could enjoy such a different type of show. HAP & Leonard is not simplistic, & it is not a show that is geared to folks missing a few neuro-transmitters or other brain matter. It is really a creative story with very talented characters that most of us know from previous shows. I am so glad these talented folks took a chance on this show and there is a network that has the guts air it. And Sundance....please keep airing these shows. .

About time the unlikely bond of two great friends came together, one Black one White and the Black guy is gay for a change. I love the Acting in this , the story and the general plot. great stuff. Watch it.Michael Williams was brilliant in 'Boardwalk Empire and I am sad they did-int continue that show however, He (Williams) is a stunning soft cold and warm Actor who can bring any character to life in leaps and bounds.I would hire him in a second for any Role .

My spoilers are super minor, nothing that will jeopardize your viewing pleasure.

This show keeps getting better and better. I have just finished watching the 4th episode and there is something so quirky about it. It is supposed to take place in the 80's (thereabouts) and centers around crime - trying to locate stolen money and dealing with the results. It is set in Texas with the 2 main characters wearing cowboy boots and hats, giving it a westernish vibe. But then you throw in the spandex wearing, spike-haired, blue eye-shadowed, 80's murderous vixen and the show becomes a little more off kiltered, but in an entirely good way. This mix of characters makes me feel like I am watching a blend of a Guy Ritchie Film and Pulp Fiction turned into a TV show. The violence reminds me of this combo as well. It is extreme and bloody but done with flair and frivolity.

There are some excellent and well-known actors in the show: James Purefoy, Michael Kenneth Williams, and the ever lovely Christina Hendricks. Michael and James have really good chemistry together and It is completely believable that they have been best of friends since childhood. I do have to say, though, that Enrique Murciano's acting was cringe worthy (an ex-lover to Leonard (Michael's character)). It was so over the top. But I have to wonder if the director wanted it to look like that because otherwise one would think that he would have redone the scenes. Fortunately Enrique's role is very minor.

I am rating Hap and Leonard a 8 because of how entertaining, quirky, and amusing it is. The show is not up there with such monumental TV like Breaking Bad or The Wire, but I am surprised that more people aren't watching this and proclaiming its superb entertainment value. Shows like this and Fargo demonstrate that TV can be even more than good writing and acting, they can be art.

Which is an odd choice to kick start the series. Because "Savage Season" was originally not part of the Hap and Leonard book series, it was a stand alone novel with the characters appearing first time ever. What would become known as the "Hap and Leonard Book Series" started with the intense mystery, amateur sleuth books like "Mucho Mojo" and "The Two Bear Mambo", and the rest is history. While the book series has ups and lows as any series, I never got tired of reading all of them.

The TV series is almost I would say dedicated to new and old fans of the books, the casting and the details are all there, so while Joe Lansadale's prose is gone it is a hell of a treat for readers that can approach an on-the-screen version. I am unable to tell how this TV series will sit to newcomers, because the plot ruminates deeply on themes that prevailed in Savage Season (i.e. the idealism of the 60s, and its reverberations into the late 80s) but were lately abandoned in the books which became their own distinct brand of crime mystery novels. And that is unfair as I am leaving out a lot of themes in the novels, really.

So give it a try, and if it lets you down just wait until the second arc comes out. If they adapt Mucho Mojo as it is hinted... or The Two Bear Mambo, or any other book with Hap and Leonard the plot will be much more intense and focused than this one, and the potential to rival with other mystery TV series like "True Detective".