Sara_Tor

Usually I'm skeptical about "from the world of" sequels because they never seem to capture the spirit of the original (see Suits LA). Bosch is one of my favorite shows and I think they have done a great job keeping the same vibe on Ballard. Maggie Q is great at being tough and vulnerable at the same time. I enjoy the team they are assembling around her. The cases are interesting and it's great that they have more than 1, it keeps the plot moving forward and the viewer engaged. The dynamic with Bosch is evolving and I like seeing his character in a mentor capacity. Ballard's past with the Homicide department is fraught and we only learn bits and pieces from her interactions with former colleagues, which adds another layer of mystery. I like that both series still center the detective as a noble calling in the pursuit of justice, facing an uphill battle dealing with a cynical public, but also criticize the culture within the police. It keeps it nuanced and relevant, not all good or all bad, they way a lot of series try to make it.

Suits LA tells the present storyline of entertainment lawyer Ted Black trying to recover his firm after it was basically poached by his ex best friend and ex girlfriend. To do this, Ted has to stake his firm's future on successfully defending his largest and most controversial client on a murder charge, supposedly so that his other clients know he can still protect them, even with a smaller office. This is a flimsy premise that tries and fails to develop into a storyline full of legal intrigue and hail marys. Stephen Amell just doesn't come across as a legal genius.

The historical context for how he got into this situation with his former best friend and former girlfriend is actually much more interesting. It takes place back in New York when Ted was a prosecutor and eventually led to his brother's death. There's much more emotional weight to his storyline than anything going on in the present, and consequently the acting is much better. It gives some hope that this series could be improved.

Also, is it expecting too much for the women characters to be given different personalities or even just styles (other than Leah)!? They are basically carbon copies of each other.

I've enjoyed watching Allan Hawco on Republic of Doyle and Josephine Jobert on Death in Paradise, so I was interested to see them work together on Sainte Pierre. They have great chemistry as co-leads and I'm excited to see where this series goes. Sainte Pierre is a unique setting for a police procedural as a French island off the coast of Newfoundland. The overall story is intriguing, with Hawco playing an exiled Newfoundlander with a messy situation at home and Jobert playing a French cop who emigrated to Sainte Pierre, who is on a mission to bring down a local bigwig. Although the writing could be tighter and there are minor plot holes, overall this is a really good Canadian mystery series.