Today, we’ll venture across the pond to examine a new British crime drama series, “The Fall,” starring former “X-Files” star Gillian Anderson.
The series’ first season is available on Netflix.
Anderson plays Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson, who comes to Belfast, Ireland, when she successfully links several murders, correctly determining that there’s a serial killer on the loose.
What makes “The Fall” especially interesting is that audiences get to know Gibson and the killer (Jamie Dornan of ABC’s “Once Upon a Time”) simultaneously. Can a bad guy be a successful protagonist? Of course. Tony Soprano was no saint but, as portrayed by the late James Gandolfini, he drew viewers to HBO for six seasons. And “Breaking Bad,” with Bryan Cranston playing a cancer-stricken teacher who becomes a drug kingpin to ensure a stable future for his family, starts the final several episodes of its successful run this August on AMC. Another bad-guy protagonist is Dexter, the serial killer with a code, who is in the last of his eight seasons on Showtime.
So it should be no surprise when a new series spotlights a killer. Like “Dexter,” “The Fall” features a killer who doubles as a family man. The series offers a balanced look at both its cop and its criminal. Both characters have flaws, leaving audiences eager to learn more about both.
That’s a big reason why “The Fall” has become BBC Two’s highest-rated drama in eight years, according to the Hollywood Reporter. There will be a second season, but filming won’t begin until next year.
I am a fan!