Kokomo Tribune Entertainment NOW
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/349193
TV Media Weekly
|
July 19 - 25, 2014
cently fired flight attendant is
found dead in her home, turning
the detectives' sights on the
young CEO.
As the investigation continues,
it seems that Blunt is the obvious
suspect. Keep in mind, however,
that the entire 10-episode season
focuses on the original murder.
Many police procedurals have
proven successful in setting up
one plot line at the start of the
show, only to reveal the conclu-
sion by the end of the episode.
"Murder in the First" will have
more room to set up and flesh out
false leads than its predecessors.
Throughout production, in fact,
the actors were kept in the dark
about the eventual resolution.
By Jacqui Wiens
TV Media
C
rime intrigues audiences
like nothing else on tele-
vision. The wildly suc-
cessful "CSI: Crime Scene
Investigation" and its various
spinoffs catapulted the genre into
a new era of popularity that has
yet to subside.
The police procedural has seen
some evolution since it appeared,
and each new series tries to put a
spin on the basic format. Typical-
ly, each season is broken down
into more or less self-contained
episodes that follow one crime
and its resolution before the next
episode.
TNT is trying out something
unorthodox with its original se-
ries "Murder in the First," which
follows the investigation of one
crime for an entire season, re-
flecting a more realistic time
frame. Catch a new episode Mon-
day, July 21, on TNT.
It's a bold move, and it seems
to be paying off for the network.
The premiere episode of "Murder
in the First" drew in an impres-
sive 4.9 million viewers over the
course of two airings, making it
the network's most successful se-
ries premiere in two years. With a
score of 68 out of 100 based on
critic reviews on metacritic.com,
it seems that the professional au-
dience is digging the format.
(On the other hand, the web-
site had two incredibly different
viewer reviews as of press time
with one user giving the show a
10/10 and the other rating it a big
fat zero with the main complaint
seeming to be prevalent nudity.)
"Murder in the First" stars Taye
Diggs ("Private Practice") and
Kathleen Robertson ("Beverly
Hills, 90210") as San Francisco
homicide detectives Terry English
and Hildy Mulligan. As the series
opens, it is revealed that Det.
English's wife has been suffering
from pancreatic cancer and is on
death's doorstep. Diggs gives life
to English's struggle to keep his
emotions under wraps in a high
stress environment as the most
precious thing in his life slips
slowly away.
English's partner, Det. Mulli-
gan, is a divorced, single mother
trying to balance the challenges
of her demanding career as well
as the challenges of having a pre-
teen daughter. When Mulligan
sees English struggling with per-
sonal problems, she steps in and
sends him home to his wife.
"Murder in the First" begins as
English and Mulligan head out to
investigate a shooting in a drug
den in San Francisco's Tenderloin
District. They eventually discover
that their victim, Kevin Nyers, is
the biological father of tech prod-
igy Erich Blunt, portrayed by the
Harry Potter franchise's Tom Fel-
ton. Blunt is the CEO of APPLSN, a
Silicon Valley startup dedicated to
bringing immersive apps to the
masses. The show gives Blunt a
Mark Zuckerberg vibe, and it is
quickly revealed that he is being
sued for allegedly stealing a for-
mer employee's work.
After a meeting with the plain-
tiff in question, a visibly agitated
Blunt returns to his private jet.
When his young flight attendant
(with whom he may or may not
be having an affair) spills wine on
his shirt, Blunt fires her in a less-
than-kind manner. Although he
apparently had a change of heart
and hired her back, Blunt's re-
One season, one crime
TNT keeps audiences guessing with
'Murder in the First'
2
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Cover story
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