42/28

American (English) remake of the French series HPI (2021)

Chronology

Follows Morgan, a single mom of three kids and how thanks to her exceptional mind, she is able to help to solve a crime as she rearranges evidence during her shift as a cleaner for the police department.. Despite her very high IQ, excellent memory, and extensive knowledge of the arcane, Morgan makes a series of basic mistakes of law that anyone who has ever watched a TV law show would know not to make. In Episode one, for instance, she obtains a document from a locked safe in a law office of the suspect-victim that would never be admissible in court—illegally obtained evidence. It also could not be used to obtain other evidence—violation of the legal doctrine of "fruit of the poisonous tree." In Episode 2, she has to be reminded to wear gloves before handling evidence at a crime scene, and in #3, she removes all the documented evidence from the police station, totally breaking the chain of custody and making everything she removed also no longer admissible in a court of law..

Remake of HPI (2021)

I waited for 4 episodes, providing plenty of opportunity for the show to prove itself.This is the exact same formula all the "detective", "cop", or "legal" shows take. This is more in the "light drama" vein than the more realistic shows, but it’s still the same formula. It's "The Finder", "Elsbeth", "So Help Me Todd", etc…. just in a different wrapper.If it's "based on a French series" that merely means the French are perfectly capable of using the same tired, hackneyed formula US shows abuse profusely, that's all.Male + Female "sleuth" team, one is glib and aloof, the other serious and by-the-book, they clash, but ultimately support each other.

and there's a rub

Clues are MIRACULOUS in nature and often not anything a viewer, any viewer, could ever pick up on… a who-done-it series where the audience CAN'T figure out the outcome because they aren’t privy to the miraculous (and hidden) clues yet to come — but were supposed to be there all along.2-5 Minute opening main story… 30-35 minute random "case" that plays out similar to all other cases…. 2-5 minute closing main story scene to add cliffhanger for next week..

wash, rinse, repeat

So sick of this overused formula.The premiere of this type of series can be interesting because it's the set up for the main story.. but the formula pattern sets in at episode 2.. then just repeats over and over for as long as the series is on the air — often the show is canceled long before the main story comes to any resolution — meaning, the missing father in this series will NEVER have any answer or conclusion because it's just a " phishing line" of the story to keep viewers hooked for next week.Olsen and Sunjata do a good job, well suited for the characters.. some of the other cast members (mostly the cops), not so much.

And each episode basically has a large guest cast

which is hit or miss.Overall it’s a bubblegum sleuth series…. not really horrible, but not exactly deep or complex in nature. I can see why some may like it, but I’d be surprised it sticks around for long.