King & Maxwell

David Baldacci is one of my favorite authors and I have read everything he's written. However, I had no idea that one of his series had been made into a TV show, so I was totally surprised when I happened to accidentally stumble upon it. First of all, when a book has been made into a movie or TV show, very rarely does the video coincide with the mental visuals you had in your head while reading the book itself. As I was watching the episode, my mind was scrambling to figure out which book it was and what was going to happen and I was mentally comparing the actors to the version I had in my head of the book characters. What I enjoyed the most from Baldacci books isn't the plot--hasn't it all been done before? But it's the characterization that pulls me in. Although I've only seen one episode, I'll keep watching to see if the actors can establish the same relationship. And, secondly, why wasn't this series advertised more? For pete's sake, this series is based on a very successful author's work--advertise it so that people know it's there. You shouldn't have to stumble upon it.

It's probably unfair to be comparing a series that's 8 episodes old with one that's past the ton, but it's probably inevitable considering its niche.

So far, as a crime comedy series, it seems nice and perky. Nothing wildly challenging; but then again it doesn't take itself too seriously, so it would be churlish to be super picky - although the writers do sometimes go overboard with the "cutesy" dialogue.

The leads are good - it's nice to see Jon Tenney in a lead role, and Rebecca Romijn is a pleasant surprise as the feisty, competitive Mrs-Peel-for-the-2010s - but the real standouts are the satellite characters of Edgar (Ryan Hurst) and Benny (Dichen Lachmann). I certainly hope they're developed more.

I also like the gradually emerging subplot of the mystery behind the assassination that got Sean kicked out of the SS (interesting initials those - and actually used that way in the program); but I hope they add a bit more depth to our heroes, and maybe explore the possibilities of "enhanced friendship" between Sean and Michelle.

So: Not bad - I've certainly seen worse - but not quite in 'Castle' territory yet.

7/10 right now; and I hope it gets better, because I'll be watching.

Firstly I loved The Closer, especially Jon Tenny and 99% of the other cast members, so seeing him in this, with Major Crimes taking over from The Closer is manna from heaven for me.

King and Maxwell are to ex secret service agents who partner up as PI's with a difference. King isn't all that worried about making money or bending the rules a bit as long as they get the job done. Maxwell tends to follow a similar vein, but is more head strong and bossy. The chemistry between the actors is easy to see and they bring this out in their characters which makes for fun and interesting viewing. For me this is Castle with a twist.

Quirky is how I found the first episode and admittedly I have now seen the second episode prior to this review and I will be continuing to watch this show with interest. The continuing involvement of Edgar (as I had hoped after the pilot) will make the show even more interesting and fun, but maybe a little predictable, time will tell.

A recommended show for me and I hope it continues in the vein of the first two episodes.

8/10

Sadly I just learned that King & Maxwell was cancelled. I thought it was a great adaptation of Baldacci's books. Edgar being my favorite character portrayed wonderfully by Ryan Hurst. Jon Tenney has never disappointed and I felt Rebecca Romijn worked well with Tenney. The comic banter is done quite well and we were just getting to see inner personalities develop. The writing is well done and set choices appropriate. Perhaps if we viewers are lucky someone else will pick it up. We are being inundated with idiotic reality shows like the new Chrisley show, its embarrassing to watch people make fools of themselves. THere are some pretty dumb fictional shows as well. What audience are they polling because no one ever asks me or anyone I know, and I hear people complain all the time about the volume of intelligence insulting reality shows.

Okay, I have read all the books and came to know about this TNT series when I was on my last book. I was pleasantly surprised that how good the show was. The chemistry between King and Maxwell shown in the show was very close to the actual chemistry portrayed in the books. It was a very good show and I would have liked to see a bit more of it so kind of gutted that TNT has already pulled the plug on it. They should have given it at least one more season because in this season we did see how Sean lost his job but there was not much back story on Michelle and how they became King and Maxwell. The episode with JT Maxwell was my favourite, it was not a storyline from books but still the addition of JT in the mix was very good. It is annoying to see that some shows are on air for multiple seasons but an entertaining show like this has already been axed. It was a great watch and to see two of my favourite book characters on TV screen.