Shot in the Dark

I have to say this is one great documentary and 8 episodes is just too few. I'm not one who will easily give a show a 9 on IMDb but this one gets it. The storytelling, the editing, multi angle shots, the map of LA are of really high quality. This together with the enthusiastic stringers makes up for a very engaging documentary. It being on Netflix makes it a great show for binge watching.

I have liked Nightcrawler. I like it better than Shot in the Dark. After all it is a finished script and this is reality TV. Yet I strongly disliked the preaching writer voice and the cheap moralistic take. And here that aspect is missing. I am aware that the temptation is strong so that makes this series quite valuable. Another strong point is that the production team was able to make every team have a personality and not treat them all as one faceless group. The downside is the perceived repetition. I know the cases were hand picked to avoid having two of the same, yet by the 5th or 6th episode I was feeling I am watching the old pieces. By the 8th episode the dullness was toned down by the conflict between the teams. So overall, it was a good TV experience.

It's about video journalists that race to emergencies to be the first to get the footage and sell it to TV stations. Very interesting with lots of intense footage. I never knew these guys existed, guess I always assumed it was the TV stations getting the footage.

I hope they add more episodes soon, I'm addicted to this show.

Lots of good comments here, expressed better than I could. I enjoy the show, except for one thing. Scott. I get it that TV is more compelling when there's conflict and he fits that bill to a T. Every so often I hurl an epithet at my screen over what he does or says. But tonight did it for me... he claims it's all about family. In this episode he announced that he's having a baby. He was asked how it will affect his life, will he settle down, be a dad, take fewer risks. He said nope. "We have an arrangement. She takes care of everything and I work." When a man chooses work, or anything else, as more important than being a dad he becomes nothing more than just another absent, deadbeat father. No child deserves that, and no wife should be treated that way.

The premise of shot in the dark is following LA stringers as they attempt to get newsworthy footage of car accidents/police chases/shootings to sell to news agencies. The show follows three different groups of stringers as they respond to these police scanner calls and race against each other to sell the news. The cinematography is really impeccable on this show, with map visuals of locations, first hand from the stringers and from their following cameraman, and even news footage if the story was used. I really enjoyed getting to see this as I've never been exposed to it before. My only fault is that they interactions between the different groups felt very staged. After 8 episodes the show does become very repetitive (car on fire, building on fire, etc.).