Just in case you weren’t aware, the television landscape as we know it has been evolving over the past decade or so. With the market growing ever more fragmented, ratings for the major networks have continued to sink while their cable — and now streaming services — take home all of the awards. Considering that cable shows like FX’s American Horror Story and Fargo and HBO’s True Detective have found great success with what have come to be known as “anthology series,” it was only a matter of time before one of the big four took at shot at the concept. On Thursday, March 5 the American Broadcasting Company does just that.
American Crime (not to be confused with Ryan Murphy’s upcoming FX series, American Crime Story) comes from Academy Award winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) who not only created the series but also wrote and directed its pilot. The series (or at least this season, should a renewal be issued) revolves around the murder of a war veteran Matt Skokie. Opening with a phone call to Skokie’s father (played by Timothy Hutton) as he’s asked to come identify his son’s body. From there we’re introduced to a supposed-gang banger (Richard Cabral), a couple of meth heads (Elvis Nolasco and Caitlin Gerard), an auto shop owner and his son (Benito Martinez and Johnny Ortiz) and Skokie’s mother (Felicity Huffman). There is also the wife of the younger Skokie who remains in critical condition following the attack that killed her husband, though her and her parents aren’t as big of a part of the premiere episode.
Delivering a winning drama doesn’t just take great writing but strong acting to really sell a show. On that front American Crime brings some great performances. The always-amazing Felicity Huffman is once again great in the series — the third she’s starred in for ABC. Still my favorite role on the show belongs to Johnny Ortiz. Playing Tony Guitierrez, a Hispanic teen who quickly finds himself in over his head, Ortiz is arguably the pilot’s most likeable and relatable character (a dangerous assertion given how much is up in the air on the program). On the opposite side of the coin, I found Richard Cabral’s portrayal of a tattooed gangster to be way over the top, almost to the level of parody.
In addition to being a mystery/crime story, American Crime wades its feet into the discussion on race. While ABC freshman comedies Black-ish, Cristela, and Fresh Off the Boat have done so in a lighthearted manner, Crime addresses some of these issues in a decidedly more serious way. Though the pilot mostly alludes to these racial undertones — aside from one scene that calls to mind the controversies surrounding excessive use of force by police officers — they quickly make their way to surface beginning with the second episode.
Without spoiling anything, as the pilot concludes we have a better idea of how all of the characters we’ve been introduced to over the last hour are connected. Ultimately the episode’s final reveal, intended to convince viewers to make the show part of their Thursday viewing, falls somewhat flat. To be sure, the “twist” or “hook” is nothing on the level of podcast sensation “Serial” or Crime’s lead-in, Scandal.
However, American Crime doesn’t aim to to be a Shondaland drama. It’s less concerned with scandals than it is injustices. It’s not about how to get away with murder but about how the families on both sides (victim and suspect) of such violent acts have their lives affected by them.
Given the goal of competing with the darker subject matter found elsewhere, the pilot features a fair amount of violence and drug use. Still those pesky network censors are evident when convenient cuts prevent us from actually seeing the ingestion of any narcotics, for example. Additionally, when characters utter some choice four-letter words, the audio of their dialogue cuts out. And, if the first episode is any indication, the show will never reach Breaking Bad style violence… for better or worse.
Overall American Crime’s pilot leaves us with enough good faith to invest in its saga. Yet it remains to be seen whether this will prove ABC’s answer to cable’s dominance in the genre. If nothing else it’s a good attempt at pushing the boundaries of network TV and will likely be remembered as such… even if it shows there’s still a ways to go.
American Crime premieres Thursday, March 5th at 10 p.m. on ABC