http://www.fxnetworks.com/thebridge
Who gets custody of a body left on the bridge between El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico — a body positioned precisely so that half is in one country, half in the other?
Will El Paso Homicide Detective Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger) take the case and run with it? (“She’s American,” Cross says, looking at the murdered woman’s white face.) Or will Detective Marco Ruiz (Demian Bichir) of the Chihuahua State Police, with odds against him on both sides of the border, join in the investigation?
Even after the body turns out to be the unmatched halves of two women — one a young Mexican, the other a U.S. judge who had taken an anti-immigration stance — the crime that drives “The Bridge” isn’t the most compelling thing about this excellent, absorbing new series.
Instead, writers Meredith Stiehm (“Cold Case,” “Homeland”) and Elwood Reid lure us in with a serial killer, hook us with his mysterious political agenda and wind up making us care about immigration and border issues, and the people they touch, in ways we might not have expected.
Given its timely and very North American themes, the origins of “The Bridge” might be surprising.
“Broen,” or “Bron,” set on a bridge beween Denmark and Sweden, aired in those countries in 2011 and later in Great Britain, Germany and elsewhere. A second season is set for fall.
Would Americans watch a dubbed or subtitled foreign drama? Some might, but FX is aiming bigger than that with this adaptation, whose Texas-Mexico border setting network president John Landgraf said would make it “both riveting and relevant.”
The decision to remake “The Bridge” is just another example of the fact that TV is very much a two-way street these days between the United States and the rest of the world.
British TV series, especially comedies, have been adapted by American networks for years, with mixed results. (Two notable successes: “All in the Family” and “The Office.”)
Anyone who has watched television abroad has seen many American series dubbed into the local language, and countries including Russia have adapted U.S. comedies including “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
But with other countries turning out a growing number of their own shows, especially dramas, idea-strapped U.S. producers are increasingly looking there for content.
AMC’s “The Killing” was a faithful adaptation of the Danish crime drama “Forbrydelsen.” Showtime’s “Homeland” was inspired by (although not adapted from) the Israeli series “Hatufim,” about prisoners of war. ABC’s summer series “Mistresses” was originally British, as is AMC’s upcoming “Low Winter Sun.” Lifetime’s “Devious Maids” is adapted from a Mexican soap opera.
Not every adaptation goes entirely right. Remember MTV’s adaptation of the British cult favorites “Skins” and “The Inbetweeners,” or any number of short-lived comedies? Even “The Killing” irritated many U.S. viewers with its slow pace and failure to resolve its mystery until the end of Season 2.
But “The Bridge” translates brilliantly, fitting into its new setting so perfectly, you’d never imagine it had aired in any other incarnation.
Casting Bichir (Oscar-nominated for “A Better Life”) as the male lead was key. He’s both entirely authentic and completely accessible as weary Mexican detective Ruiz, a good but flawed man trying to get along in a corrupt system where “gringos” might not understand the rules.
Kruger (“National Treasure,” “Inglourious Basterds”) is German, but she’s just right as quirky Texas detective Cross, whose personality disorder — she has Asperger’s syndrome, FX says, although that isn’t addressed in the first three episodes — makes her both brilliant and difficult. (“I’m sorry if I didn’t exercise empathy,” she tells the angry, grieving husband of a murder victim.)
The flawed female detective has become a familiar character, from Helen Mirren’s alcoholic Detective Jane Tennison in “Prime Suspect” to Claire Danes’ bipolar Carrie Mathison on “Homeland.” Asperger’s is also, perhaps, an overly popular TV diagnosis.
But Kruger makes Cross feel fresh and even unique, whether she’s gathering evidence in a case (she sees everything!) or setting up a sexual encounter with a puzzled stranger.
The cast is crowded and rich with personalities both in Juarez and El Paso, with even the smallest roles cast sharply. Matthew Lillard has a tense and darkly funny moment as an obnoxious newspaper reporter entangled with the murderer. Especially appealing is Ted Levine as Lt. Hank Wade, the boss who has protectively guarded Cross for years, helping her to function. His impending retirement now terrifies her.
One subplot that doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the series, at least early on, has Annabeth Gish as Charlotte Millwright, second wife of a horse rancher with secrets. In the opening scene, he has suffered a heart attack, and his ambulance needs to get across the bridge. How Cross wants to handle that, and how Ruiz does, lets viewers know much about both of them. That Charlotte gets a storyline of her own, though, is a bit of a surprise.
But after watching the first three episodes, it’s easy to trust that “The Bridge” knows exactly where it’s going and to want to travel that route.{&rule}‘The Bridge’
http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/gail-pennington/fx-s-the-bridge-takes-viewers-on-fascinating-journey/article_92d274ab-97f6-590b-a7b4-31d32bffa83e.html
:fingerscrossed:
Who gets custody of a body left on the bridge between El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico — a body positioned precisely so that half is in one country, half in the other?
Will El Paso Homicide Detective Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger) take the case and run with it? (“She’s American,” Cross says, looking at the murdered woman’s white face.) Or will Detective Marco Ruiz (Demian Bichir) of the Chihuahua State Police, with odds against him on both sides of the border, join in the investigation?
Even after the body turns out to be the unmatched halves of two women — one a young Mexican, the other a U.S. judge who had taken an anti-immigration stance — the crime that drives “The Bridge” isn’t the most compelling thing about this excellent, absorbing new series.
Instead, writers Meredith Stiehm (“Cold Case,” “Homeland”) and Elwood Reid lure us in with a serial killer, hook us with his mysterious political agenda and wind up making us care about immigration and border issues, and the people they touch, in ways we might not have expected.
Given its timely and very North American themes, the origins of “The Bridge” might be surprising.
“Broen,” or “Bron,” set on a bridge beween Denmark and Sweden, aired in those countries in 2011 and later in Great Britain, Germany and elsewhere. A second season is set for fall.
Would Americans watch a dubbed or subtitled foreign drama? Some might, but FX is aiming bigger than that with this adaptation, whose Texas-Mexico border setting network president John Landgraf said would make it “both riveting and relevant.”
The decision to remake “The Bridge” is just another example of the fact that TV is very much a two-way street these days between the United States and the rest of the world.
British TV series, especially comedies, have been adapted by American networks for years, with mixed results. (Two notable successes: “All in the Family” and “The Office.”)
Anyone who has watched television abroad has seen many American series dubbed into the local language, and countries including Russia have adapted U.S. comedies including “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
But with other countries turning out a growing number of their own shows, especially dramas, idea-strapped U.S. producers are increasingly looking there for content.
AMC’s “The Killing” was a faithful adaptation of the Danish crime drama “Forbrydelsen.” Showtime’s “Homeland” was inspired by (although not adapted from) the Israeli series “Hatufim,” about prisoners of war. ABC’s summer series “Mistresses” was originally British, as is AMC’s upcoming “Low Winter Sun.” Lifetime’s “Devious Maids” is adapted from a Mexican soap opera.
Not every adaptation goes entirely right. Remember MTV’s adaptation of the British cult favorites “Skins” and “The Inbetweeners,” or any number of short-lived comedies? Even “The Killing” irritated many U.S. viewers with its slow pace and failure to resolve its mystery until the end of Season 2.
But “The Bridge” translates brilliantly, fitting into its new setting so perfectly, you’d never imagine it had aired in any other incarnation.
Casting Bichir (Oscar-nominated for “A Better Life”) as the male lead was key. He’s both entirely authentic and completely accessible as weary Mexican detective Ruiz, a good but flawed man trying to get along in a corrupt system where “gringos” might not understand the rules.
Kruger (“National Treasure,” “Inglourious Basterds”) is German, but she’s just right as quirky Texas detective Cross, whose personality disorder — she has Asperger’s syndrome, FX says, although that isn’t addressed in the first three episodes — makes her both brilliant and difficult. (“I’m sorry if I didn’t exercise empathy,” she tells the angry, grieving husband of a murder victim.)
The flawed female detective has become a familiar character, from Helen Mirren’s alcoholic Detective Jane Tennison in “Prime Suspect” to Claire Danes’ bipolar Carrie Mathison on “Homeland.” Asperger’s is also, perhaps, an overly popular TV diagnosis.
But Kruger makes Cross feel fresh and even unique, whether she’s gathering evidence in a case (she sees everything!) or setting up a sexual encounter with a puzzled stranger.
The cast is crowded and rich with personalities both in Juarez and El Paso, with even the smallest roles cast sharply. Matthew Lillard has a tense and darkly funny moment as an obnoxious newspaper reporter entangled with the murderer. Especially appealing is Ted Levine as Lt. Hank Wade, the boss who has protectively guarded Cross for years, helping her to function. His impending retirement now terrifies her.
One subplot that doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the series, at least early on, has Annabeth Gish as Charlotte Millwright, second wife of a horse rancher with secrets. In the opening scene, he has suffered a heart attack, and his ambulance needs to get across the bridge. How Cross wants to handle that, and how Ruiz does, lets viewers know much about both of them. That Charlotte gets a storyline of her own, though, is a bit of a surprise.
But after watching the first three episodes, it’s easy to trust that “The Bridge” knows exactly where it’s going and to want to travel that route.{&rule}‘The Bridge’
http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/television/gail-pennington/fx-s-the-bridge-takes-viewers-on-fascinating-journey/article_92d274ab-97f6-590b-a7b4-31d32bffa83e.html
:fingerscrossed:
