Murder on the Strip ABC’s new crime

By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media

Crime drama anthologies are in their heyday just now. With the critical acclaim garnered from Emmy-winning shows such as HBO’s “True Detective” and FX’s “Fargo,” not to mention the BAFTA- and Peabody-winning British series “Broadchurch,” it’s no surprise that more and more showrunners are taking a stab at the format.

ABC found great mainstream success earlier this year with “American Crime,” starring Timothy Hutton (“Leverage”) and Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”). The show raked in 10 Emmy nominations and one win and, according to critic Dominic Patten in a Deadline review, “marks a resounding flag-planting by network television and tells cable that it doesn’t own poignant drama on our small screens.”

No doubt looking to duplicate that success and keep the flag waving, the alphabet network is launching a new crime anthology series this month. “Wicked City” premieres Tuesday, Oct. 27, on ABC.

The freshman season takes place amongst the glitz, neon lights and big hair of 1982 Sunset Strip. Ed Westwick brings his devious charm back to the small screen in his first television role since that of filthyrich bad boy Chuck Bass in The CW’s “Gossip Girl.” He leads “Wicked City’s” season 1 cast as Kent Grainger, a dashing young man whose good looks and charm hide something much darker.

As creator Steven Baigelman said during the show’s Television Critics Association panel, early ‘80s Los Angeles “was both the murder capital of the country and also the serial killer capital of the country. People come for fame and recognition, not only to be actors and musicians, but somehow, oddly, serial killers came here as well for that same reason.”

In the dimly lit bars and clubs of Sunset Strip, Grainger connects with ambitious young women, posing as a Hollywood bigwig who can help launch them to stardom. When he gains their trust and gets them to a secluded area, he kills them.

“It was a very loud era,” said se-