Briarpatch

I wasn't entirely certain what to expect from Briarpatch.  Rosario Dawson is sort of hit or miss for me in terms of the work she does.  What drew me in at the start was the fact that Briarpatch has a creative team that brought us things like Legion (Andy Greenwald) and Mr. Robot (Sam Esmail).  Also, Jay R. Fergusson is one of the stars and at this point I will follow him anywhere. And Alan Cumming plays a very very bad man.

Small town in Texas is home to all sort of bad folks.  When her sister is killed in a car bomb, Allegra Dill comes back to her old hometown in order to find out what happened to her sister.  

The show floats between noir mystery, vast conspiracy, commentary on mental health and PTSD, commentary on immigration, back door politics, and is just stylized in a way that makes everything feel gritty yet sleek.  Think Justified meets Fargo meets designer suits. 

Rosario Dawson is playing a tough as nails investigator but for me (and I already told you I'm biased at the top), the main draw here is Jay. R Fergusson.  He is playing Jake Spivey, a kid from the wrong side of the tracks that became a military man.  He participated in black ops and then in arms deals. He's now extravagant, over the top (he owns a dang giraffe), and he's incredibly charming and self assured.  He's also incredibly violent. And vulnerable. 

This is a truly bingeable show.  I blew through the first eight episodes and am now eagerly awaiting the conclusion. I have no idea if there's even a story for a season 2. Or if it will be something like Fargo in which it's the same universe but different players.

I'd recommend you give this one a chance if you ever see it come across your queue.