Ticket 2 Ride

Longmire (Prime) Originally, this series was on A&E, then moved to Netflix for additional seasons. A total of six seasons that premiered in 2012. Based on the Longmire books by Craig Johnson. A kickass series set in Wyoming about a county sheriff solving mysteries with the help of Henry Standing Bear, his friend and saloon owner, his daughter attorney Daughter Cady, and his deputies including Vic, Branch and Ferg. There are of course wealthy interests and the Indian Reservation that complicate his cases. My chief complaint about how the series was adapted for television was how Longmire’s personality was stripped of any humor and made much too stoic. The books have a delicious quirkiness and otherworldly vibe that the series plays too straight with, making the show more of a linear police procedural, rather than a world where odd routes and events surprisingly get you there, and entertain you along the way.

✅Watch

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Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) Four seasons and counting of his witty and delightful series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. The first couple of seasons were spot-on, funny, brilliantly written and plenty of quirky characters. It kept you guessing. Since then, the show has struggled to meet the standard it set. The writing is weaker and the style more self-indulgent. Hoping that season five returns to the groove of the original premise.

✅Watch

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Broadchurch (Netflix) This series starred Olivia Coleman and David Tennant, two extraordinary actors. Three seasons of the show were produced. Set in Broadchurch, a fictional English town on the coast of Dorset; a murder of a boy and the rippling effect of the investigation, cuts deeply into the residents of this close knit community. This show is quite intense as relationships crumble and the lives of two detectives are impacted as well.

✅Watch

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Happy Valley (Philo or fuboTV) Starring Sarah Lancashire, James Norton and Siobhan Finneran. Three seasons are available. Set in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, Catherine Cawood (Lancashire) is a divorced police sergeant with two children, who is also raising her grandson, after the suicide of her daughter. Lancashire is exceptional in this role, her character shoulders a lot, extraordinary responsibility, while dealing with her own demons.

✅Watch

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Death in Paradise (Britbox or Prime) This show never ends, just the cast changes with the exception of Don Harrington as the Police Commissioner on the small island of Saint Marie, a British Territory. The show has lasted 14 seasons. The premise is that a Detective Inspector is sent to the island to lead the small police force. Not all of the DI’s have loved the “paradise” while others just accepted the cultural differences. As a police procedural, this show has always been very good. My favorite seasons were the first two, which starred Ben Miller DI Richard Poole and Sara Martins as Det. Sgt. Camille Borden.

✅Watch

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Dexter (Showtime) A very popular series about a serial killer. Eight seasons, plus a reboot and several planned spinoffs. I’ve tried to watch Dexter several times, but I’ve always been creeped out by it. The series walks a thin line between entertainment and bad taste. I realize that I’m in the minority, as the show was quite successful, yet I could not wrap my head around the main character or his purpose in the series. Pass.

❌Not for me

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Duster (Max) This series looked cool before I even saw it. The advertising and promotion nailed it as a hip, stylish, retro show with swagger. Developed by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Trek) and LaToya Morgan (The Walking Dead, Shameless), the show stars Josh Holloway (Lost) and Keith David (Crash,The Replacements), and Rachel Hilson, who I didn’t know, but would soon enjoy her work. Hilson plays Nina, a new FBI agent, who takes up a tough case where he convinces Jim (Holloway) to be an informant against Ezra (David). The show is fast and smart, and I’m already looking forward to season two.

✅Watch

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The Sinner (Netflix) We stumbled across this show, recognizing the names Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman. What we soon discovered was a creepy and at times, repulsive, eight-part first season that was both difficult to watch and difficult to turn away from. The creepy fact had to do with the religious overtones and the intertwined psycho-sexual addictions of very broken people. Too much of that. At the very end we were glad it was over, but still talking about it, trying to make sense of it. There are three more seasons – will we watch? I’m not sure.

❓Watch? No recommendation.

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End of part two. Watch for part three.