What American TV needs this summer is a juicy serial killer series.
We haven’t had a new serial murderer show in, like, a week. I was getting antsy.
Never mind that every other show on CBS is about serial killers or the murder of the week, we don’t yet have one set in Europe and featuring an international cast.
That’s something different, but is it enough of a twist to pique your interest? How many tweaks can they give the hackneyed serial killer formula to make it worth our while?
International crime busters is what we get with NBC’s new Crossing Lines. The twohour season premiere airs at 8 p.m. today, then settles into its regular 9 p.m. hour June 30.
Crossing Lines is NBC’s attempt at actually having something scripted worth watching during the summer doldrums instead of cheap and cheesy reality shows. ABC put its summer hopes on Mistresses, and CBS has the highly anticipated Under the Dome debuting Monday (see today’s TV Week insert for details).
CBS has even uncanceled the previously canned Unforgettable (shows start July 28) in an attempt to catch up.
All of this is evidence of broadcast TV’s awakening to the fact that cable has stolen its thunder during the summer, when broadcast used to turn out the lights and turn onthe reruns until the fall.
While the networks were taking the summers off, cable slipped in with some notable programming - The Killing and Breaking Bad (AMC); True Blood and The Newsroom (HBO); Dexter (Showtime) - as well as some steady dramas that became fan favorites. These include Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, Suits and Necessary Roughness on USA; Falling Skies, Rizzoli & Isles and Franklin & Bash on TNT; and Longmire and The Glades on A&E.
Meanwhile, Showtime will roll out Ray Donovan, a gripping and brilliantly acted adult drama starring Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight, on June 30.
All of these cable goodies finally got the networks’ attention, and that’s why we now have Crossing Lines from former police officer Ed Bernero, co-creator of Third Watch and executive producer of Criminal Minds.
The NBC overview: “Through globalization, many countries have been openedand barriers removed to ensure easy trade, travel and cultural diversity. However, this openness has given opportunities to criminals looking to exploit the system and ultimately threaten our global safety.
“As Europe has become a ‘safe house’ for criminals eluding law enforcers, a special kind of law enforcement team is needed to handle specific ongoing crimes on a global level.”
Bernero adds, “Europe, with the breaking down of the borders, is in the exact same position as the States were when they created the FBI. One of the things that fascinates me is people from all over the continent working together and learning that some of their stereotypes are incorrect.
“Hopefully, those are the two aspects of the show. It’s sort of a brave new world, and learning how to workwith people you might not know in another context.”
Crossing Lines is the story of one such elite team made up of five international cops. The team members have little in common and must learn to live and work under potentially deadly conditions “while facing bureaucratic, jurisdictional and cultural obstacles while traversing continents in pursuit of justice.”
Naturally, Crossing Lineshas the requisite fiendish killer evil genius mastermind taunting the cops. And these are especially grisly murders. So it comes down to a battle of wits between the dastardly villain and the investigators tracking him as he leaves his victims strewn about Europe’s most favorite parks.
Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games) plays Michel Dorn, an inspector in the International Criminal Court, the outfit that authorizes the elite unit to cross borders. Marc Lavoine (The Good Thief) portrays Louis Daniel, the head of the team.
Veteran character actor William Fichtner (Prison Break, Invasion) plays Carl Hickman, a disabled and retired former New York cop who lives in Amsterdam.
Also starring are Gabriella Pession (Wilfred) as Europol Sergeant Eva Vittoria; Moon Dailly (Black Heaven) as French detective and criminal analyst Anne-Marie San; Richard Flood (Titanic: Blood and Steel) as Irish detective Tommy McConnell; and Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones) as Berlin police officer Sebastian Berger.
Will it fly? We’ll see if yet another murder mystery is what America wants over the long, hot summer, or if we’ve just about had our fill.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail: [email protected]
Style, Pages 46 on 06/23/2013