Hightown

After reading all the great reviews for Hightown I thought I'd finally give it a chance. I'm glad I did because it was definitely worth watching. It's a crime drama about the war on drugs that has everything from drug use, drug dealers, corrupt cops, murders, etc. This is a lot better than your average crime drama because of its writing but mostly because of acting performances from its two stars, James Dale Badge and Monica Raymond. Hightown will hook you from the very first episode and hold on to you until the end. I'm glad that's it's already been renewed for a third season because it definitely deserves it.

This was a suprisingly good show that starred a lot of unknown actors. Monica Raymund who was the most widely known character actor headlined this series. One thing that stood out was the two leading characters, Raymund as a Federal Marine Enforcement officer (Fish Police) and James Badge Dale as state policeman Ray Abruzzo are the two most unlikeable characters in the series...yet it works. We still pull for them although they are reckless and both use people. She is a mess but deep down a good person. She has demons, maybe we learn in the next season why she is dead set on destroying herself.

The only thing my father ever told me that I paid attention to was when he said, "If you really hate a character in a show then the actor is doing a really good job". And he was right. Raymund's character is so unlikeable. She's a drunk, a drug addict and she spends way too much time on the hunt for sex with other women. She bedded at least 1/2 dozen women in the series. I'm not a prude but there was too much sex in the series. I'm looking for a crime show about murder & drugs and there's sex in almost every episode. Sex can play a part but thsi was over the top. Still, it was a good series. Ray Abruzzo the cop was a jerk to everyone around him but he was one of the 'good guys'.

There were a couple of hiccups in the series, in the form of silly dialogue but all in all the writing was pretty good.

I haven't watched the second season yet but season 1 is definitely worth watching.

This show really captures the feeling of a seaside town that's filled with people living on the edge of life in a way not many other shows can achieve. It's slightly dark but the characters have both a light side and dark side, they are realistically complex and likeable. It's fun to watch. The storyline may be not be anything amazing but the show is made by the way it's shot, the way it feels and sounds and the acting. It moves fast and again, the acting is superb. Loved it and I hope they keep making more of it. It's quite unique.

At the time of this review, this show has a 6.8 on IMDb. That's too bad because I almost didn't watch because of that. IMDb users think they are too "high brow" or something. This show is really good. Drug use and sex scenes are in your face and I guess that turns some people off. STOP GIVING SHOWS A LOW RATING BECAUSE YOU FEEL OFFENDED BY THAT! If you're reading this review and you aren't sure if you should watch, take it from me. Give it a chance. For some context, my favorite tv shows of all time are the sopranos, breaking bad, boardwalk empire, game of thrones, the last kingdom, Dexter, rescue me, and so on. If you are a fan of those shows too, then take it from me and check this series out. You won't be sorry. Don't read too much into the hate. I have officially realized that user ratings of shows are not the "end all be all" and now I will begin to broaden my horizon with new series. I understand that everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but if sex and drug use and violence are the reason that you are hating, do us all a favor and keep your opinion to yourself. Lol thanks.

We saw the description for this show, cops, drug dealers, ect. And we figured we'll try it out.

Gave it a shot and we were weren't disappointed.

It is one of our favorite shows now.

Besides the great acting and writing, this show is a master class in pacing.

Some shows need half a season to get going but Hightown never drags, never gets bogged down, the pace of the story is perfect.

Nor is it too fast and relentless to make the storyline confusing.

Cheers to the showrunner, directors and the editors.

Once again , this show is "A Master Class" on pacing!

I am really looking forward to season four!