Long Bright River

My rating is 5 stars for two reasons. First, it is so dark...what is the fascination with filming scenes in lighting so dark the viewer sees nothing? This technique is not something to be applauded. It is not "artistic" nor creative. Stop already! Make a podcast if all the audience can do is listen and not see! Second, the story could have been effectively told in half the episodes. It felt as if the studio slotting 8 episodes drove the content rather than the story line. A final aside - the casting for younger versions of characters was awful. By no stretch of the imagination would these actors grow up into the adult versions. I always find poor casting distracting.

Solid show highlighting the many devastations and complexities of addiction. Good cast with better than average acting - Amanda Seyfried was a real bright spot lead. It could have been a great show if it was tightened up to only 5 or 6 (max) episodes. What began as a tight, engrossing story that adeptly wove multiple storylines devolved into a superficial whodunnit melodrama that was, IMO, wholly unnecessary (and detracted from the depth of the first episodes). It feels like they changed editors after episode 3. It's a bummer as it had real potential to be great.

I don't understand why Hollywood believes there needs to be 8 episodes for every show. How about make as many episodes as the story requires- case in point is Adolescence, they made the number of episodes needed to tell that story and it is more powerful because of the restraint.

I don't get all the negative reviews. I thought this show was very good. Every episode left me wanting to watch another therefore I ended up binging the whole thing in one sitting. By no means is it produced to perfection but the story itself had me feeling all types of emotions. I also didn't think it was predictable, like many others have said l. Definitely had me guessing and on the edge of my seat at times. Check it out yourself and form your own opinion. I also liked On Call who has Spencer from pretty little liars playing a cop. Actors like to step out of the box and not be pigeonholed into playing the same character all the time. It's TV it doesn't need to be so realistic. It's for entertainment purposes. If you want such a realistic crime/thriller, just turn on the news.

Some of the posted reviews are absolutely mind boggling in their lack of empathy and compassion. Apparently, the homelessness, drug addiction and prostitution in this area of Philadelphia (called Kensington) marks the people (especially its female members) as losers who are not worth consideration. And by caring about the fate of the women, in general, and worrying over her sister, in particular, the series' lead character Mickey, a patrol cop played by Amanda Seyfried, is branded as some sort of gullible sucker. I found the character of her sister, Kacey, as portrayed by Ashleigh Cummings, as the most realistic and fascinating in the show. It made me want to read Liz Moore's book, and I rate the series as an 8 out of 10 stars.

I never really considered her that serious an actor, but she is jaw-droppingly good in this. Like Kate Winslet in Mare of Easttown level-or better. I would be shocked if Seyfried doesn't take home best actress at the Emmy's. Her performance is so fluid, so natural, so understated yet full of depth. I'm like floored how good she is. (Other actors/casting also great. Maybe that means the directing is great too? I do like the choices of how scenes and episodes end-a little unconventional but with a poignant beauty. So let's give it up for the director & maybe editor too!). Bravo all around. See it!