one crime TNT keeps audiences guessing with ‘Murder in the First’

By Jacqui Wiens TV Media

Crime intrigues audiences like nothing else on television. The wildly successful “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. Typically, 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 series “Murder in the First,” which follows the investigation of one crime for an entire season, reflecting a more realistic time frame. Catch a new episode Monday, 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 impressive 4.9 million viewers over the course of two airings, making it the network’s most successful series premiere in two years. With a score of 68 out of 100 based on critic reviews on metacritic.com, it seems that the professional audience is digging the format.

(On the other hand, the website 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. Mulligan, is a divorced, single mother trying to balance the challenges of her demanding career as well as the chal- lenges of having a preteen daugh-

Mark Zuckerberg vibe, and it is setting up one plot line at the start of the show, only to reveal the conclusion 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. turning the detectives’ sights on the

Speaking with “Paste Magazine,” Tom Felton said: “I’m pleased to say that, even as the character, I didn’t know until the very last minute. They were very keen not to share the information with us, and it’s definitely a ... roller-coaster of a ride.”

That sense of never knowing whodunit gives the show a powerful appeal. Even when Blunt is shoved forward as the most likely killer, he is such a charismatic character that you don’t want to believe he killed anyone. As more suspects are introduced, interviewed and discarded, there will always be a nagging doubt. Did that person do it? Did English and Mulligan just let a murderer walk away?

The brains behind the show are headed by veteran producer and co- creator Steven Bochco. For years, Bochco, who has 10 Primetime Emmy award wins and another 24 nominations to boot, has been leading the way in police and criminal television shows. His resume includes popular phenoms such as “L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue” and “Hill Street Blues,” which all took home Golden Globe awards.

As unusual as the format of “Murder in the First” is, it is in many ways a throwback to Bochco’s older show “Murder One.” As the first network drama to attempt such an extended story arc, “Murder One” faced criticism for playing up the misdirection a bit too much. The criminal was eventually revealed to be a minor character who hadn’t had much screen time, and it apparently let down a lot of viewers, as the ratings for season 2 plummeted.

The premise behind “Murder in the First” is an exciting twist on a common trend. It will be interesting to see if a longer arc can capture an audience. Tune in to TNT Monday, July 21, to catch a new episode and see if you can figure out who’s behind it all.

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