A watered down spin off that feels like just another crime drama with silence of the lambs references/imagery slapped on. Also without its most interesting character...

tresm87

Once again the nostalgia goldmine fallback struck with Hollywood producers/writers and they have unsurprisingly missed the mark...again. As a massive fan of Silence of the lambs, the teaser promo caught my eye though I knew not to expect anything much due to it being a major network show with inexperienced directors and by the book writers working with the decades old classic subject matter. Also Lecter is not featured one bit because of legal rights with nbc. Additionally, I should've known in this overly PC climate, they would take every opportunity to exaggerate gender and race aspects into the show which gets ridiculously tiring.

The whole thing just feels like every other run of the mill crime series and it slaps on Buffalo Bill and silence of the lambs references/imagery for good nostalgic measure. The lead actress does a passable job as Agent Starling and the rest of the cast is just there. The plot is predictable and safe so far and doesn't seem too intriguing. It even attempts a conclusion sequence that mirrors the film's. The soundtrack is also off putting at times and doesn't mesh well with many scenes.
I will say it's all shot well with some crisp atmosphere and settings. The makeup effects are also executed very well and near big budget film level of detail.

Overall it never really stood a chance as a major network series without Lecter's character involved at all, but it has enough going for a casual crime drama fan. Just don't expect anything if you're a huge fan of the classic film.

score 5/10

tresm87 12 February 2021

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw6587486/