A show that worked on both sides of the Atlantic . . .

purrlgurrl

Easily as well done as the British "Broadchurch", on which it is almost entirely based. David Tennant is impressive in both the UK and US shows, playing the abrasive "interloper" detective recruited to a small town police force, taking the job away from a local woman on the force who applied for it. His arrival coincides with the murder of an 11/12 year-old boy and the series follows the investigation and hunt for the killer (much like the first season of The Killing a few years back). It also highlights the working relationship between the detective and the woman he beat out for the his job (Anna Gunn). The chemistry between them is terrific and their scenes together are reason enough to watch. Michael Pena and Virginia Kull are also standouts as the parents of the murdered boy.

In both series the killer is revealed to be the same character, but the reveal is handled just a little differently between them. In the UK series, we can imagine that the main characters will come back and carry on (and indeed Broadchurch was renewed). However, the ending of Gracepoint is more suited to a one-airing mini-series, which it feels as though it was meant to be despite Fox's announcement that Gracepoint was canceled after one season. But really, it never felt as though it was meant to be a long-running series, especially with Tennant's commitment to the UK original.

I watched both shows simultaneously and am no end of impressed with Tennant's talent and ability to Americanize his character. Despite a few accent slips in the first episode, his accent was firmly nailed down by the second.

score 9/10

purrlgurrl 19 December 2014

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3144704/