Procedural dramas have long been a staple of broadcast television, with particular appeal to viewers over 50. While skewing older on linear TV, surrounded by similarly older-appeal programming on a set lineup, the same genre tends to appeal to a younger audience on streaming services.
Four vastly different procedural dramas, three of which debuted over the past year, are worth your time to check out.
One is a continuation of a long-running broadcast series, now on a streaming platform, one is an original series produced for streaming, one originally aired in another country and was picked up by a streaming service in the U,S,, and one premiered on a broadcast network, but is also available to stream. All can be binged, but I think they are better suited to viewing just one or two episodes per sitting.
Bordertown (Netflix 2016-2019): Kari Sorjonen, (Ville Virtanen) is an eccentric, socially awkward, idiosyncratic but brilliant detective from Helsinki, Finland. He takes a job leading the Serious Crimes Unit in a small town near the Russian border so he can spend more time with his sick wife (Matleena Kuusniemi) and teenage daughter (Olivia Ainali). Of course, he doesn’t have much more time for his family, as he gets pulled into investigating one disturbing crime after another.
This is more serialized than most U.S. procedural police dramas – each crime is solved in two-or three-episode story arcs, allowing for more detailed storytelling than the typical broadcast network “crime of the week,” which usually has to be resolved in one episode. The clues are investigated at a more gradual pace, as Kari meticulously solves each crime – often several steps ahead of his colleagues and bosses.
The snowy Nordic landscape is beautifully shot, and becomes an integral part of the series. It is interesting to see how cultural differences impact law enforcement’s approach to crime and criminals, where protocols on how to investigate and treat suspects can be substantially more nuanced than in the United States.
Bordertown was Finland’s most popular TV show when it debuted in 2016 (the premiere was watched by one-fifth of the country’s population). There has been no official word on whether there will be a fourth season, although rumors keep popping up.
Criminal Minds: Evolution (Paramount+ 2022- )
If Criminal Minds had been an original Netflix series, it would probably have been hailed as one of the most groundbreaking shows on television, and would likely have numerous awards on its producer’s shelves. But the first television series about the psychology of serial killers, with a mostly young, diverse, and attractive cast, aired on the older-skewing, linear CBS network for 15 years (2005-2020). So it is seldom discussed in the press as the hit show it has been.
The series centers around a team of profilers in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), which investigates crimes and hunts down serial killers and other “unsubs” (unknown subjects). Over the years, it has survived the loss of some of its most popular characters – Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson, and Shemar Moore – barely skipping a beat.
Off-network repeats have aired in multiple-day marathons on ION every week for more than 10 years, and until it ended originals on CBS, was ION’s highest rated series. All seasons are also now available on Netflix, where it is consistently ranked by Nielsen as the most viewed off-network program on any streaming service – boosted no doubt by the fact that there are more than 300 episodes.
In 2022 CBS’s streaming platform, Paramount+, rebooted (it’s really a continuation) the popular series with a few key changes. While broadcast procedurals tend to follow an episodic case-of-the-week format, the more successful procedural police dramas on streaming services focus on cases that span multiple episodes or entire seasons. Criminal Minds: Evolution follows the streaming model.
In the first season (it’s already been renewed for a second) the team tackles a single case as horrific (maybe more so) as anything they faced in the original series. Zach Gilford plays soft-spoken IT expert and psycho, Elias Volt, who, during the COVID-19 pandemic, recruited and built a network of serial killers. He providing them with a serial killer kit and specific instructions on how to select, torture, and murder their victims.
Most of the season 15 cast members return for this 16th season – Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss, recently promoted to BAU’s Unit Chief, Joe Mantegna as David Rossi, senior Supervisory Special Agent (SSA), A.J. Cook as SSA Jennifer “J.J.” Jareau, Aisha Tyler as SSA and forensic psychologist Dr. Tara Lewis, Kristen Vangsness as the BAU’s quirky tech wizard Penelope Garcia, and Adam Rodriguez as SSA Luke Valdez. Missing from the new series are Matthew Gray Gubler, who played the BAU’s resident genius, Dr. Spencer Reid in the original (and one of its most popular characters), and Daniel Henney, who played SSA Matt Simmons. It was mentioned in the pilot that they are on special assignment, so it’s always possible one or both will turn up in an episode or two next season.
Some of the cast members are a little greyer (particularly Joe Mantegna and Paget Brewster – the 53 year-old actress has said that she likes her grey hair and resisted the pressure she felt to dye it and pretend to be 35 again). There are some F-bombs thrown in, but for fans of the original, this is some welcome comfort food.
For those unfamiliar with the series, there are well over 300 episodes you can start watching. If you don't have the time or bandwidth for all 15 seasons, I suggest seasons 3, 4, 7, and 12 to give you a good feel for the show (those are some of the better seasons). Until recently, virtually all successful broadcast network series aired about 22 episodes per season (Criminal Minds: Evolution has 10, which is in line with other streaming series).
Three Pines (Prime Video 2022- )
This mystery drama is based on the novel series by Louise Penny, and stars the always compelling Alfred Molina as Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Quebec police force. He is clever, insightful, and sees things that others miss. As he investigates a series of murders in Three Pines, a fictional, seemingly idyllic village in Quebec, Canada, he encounters long-buried family secrets, as well as corrupt cops and politicians. At the same time, he has to deal with some demons of his own.
The eight-episode first season consists of four standalone murder mysteries, each taking up two episodes. There is also a secondary storyline that centers on a real problem in Canada (and the U.S.) that spans the entire season – the disappearance of a young indigenous woman and the lack of any real effort by the police to investigate.
Alfred Molina, with his piercing, always probing stare is perfect for the role. You can feel him thinking though the mysteries that stump his colleagues. Unlike most of the episodic procedural police dramas on television, Three Pines takes its time as each mystery is gradually unraveled, which makes it considerably more interesting. No word yet on whether there will be a second season.
Will Trent (ABC, Hulu 2023- )
Every year I try to include a new broadcast series on one of my lists of excellent television. This year, it’s Will Trent, which is based on Karin Slaughter’s detective novels. It’s unusual for a new procedural drama to be instantly filled with so many interesting characters, none of whom fit neatly into the cliched variety that seem to fill so many new shows these days – particularly on broadcast networks. But the first couple of episodes manage to entertainingly introduce us to all the main players, without too much exposition, gradually revealing how several of them have inter-related histories and connections. It’s also unusual to see the backstories for most of the main characters, and really get a feel for how they became who they are today.
Ramon Rodriguez is perfectly cast as Will Trent, a damaged but brilliant special agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI). His observational skills are legendary, as are his quirkiness, blunt dismissiveness of those who can’t keep up with him, and awkwardness in dealing with colleagues. Dapper and always dressed in a three-piece suit, he carries both physical and psychological scars that stem from his rough childhood in the Atlanta foster care system – which is one of his driving forces to help others.
Scorned by most of Atlanta’s police department (APD) for having launched a police corruption investigation, they nonetheless have to acknowledge his unique gifts in solving crimes that stump everyone else. The APD is forced to work with Will and the GBI on major cases.
The show has a strong ensemble cast. Sonja Sohn is Will’s no-nonsense boss, Amanda, who has problems with his style, but is constantly defending him to others. Iantha Richardson is Faith, an APD officer who has a personal grudge against Will, but is forced to partner with him on the first case of the season. Her mom was a decorated cop caught up in his corruption probe. Erika Christenson is great as Angie Polaski, an undercover vice detective, a recovering addict who we eventually discover shares a past with Will. Their relationship promises to be one of the more fascinating on television. Angie’s new partner, Michael (Jake McLaughlin), comes across as an arrogant ass, but is also a top-notch detective. He had a one-night stand with Angie years before, and she is not particularly happy about having to team up with him now.
Had this been a streaming series, such as Three Pines, crime-solving might be stretched out longer, rather than having to fit into the crime-of-the-week broadcast structure, where viewers are reminded in every episode how brilliant the star of the show is.
This is the type of intelligent, quirky show that is too often canceled to soon on broadcast television I’m hoping Will Trent will be one of the rare exceptions.
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