Terriers

Series: Terriers (FX, 2010)
Episodes: 13
Streaming: Netflix
Time it took to binge: My Saturday

Imagine Roman Polanski's Chinatown, but set in California, and you have Terriers, a gem of a show from the creator of The Shield.

In Terriers, we are introduced to Hank Dolworth (Donal Louge), a disgraced ex-cop and recovering alcoholic. He partners up with his best friend, former criminal Britt Pollack (Michael Raymond-James) and opens up an (unlicensed) Private Investigation business.

image via: screened.com

What separates this show from other PI series', however, is its charming, breezy So-Cal setting and tone.

While the show isn't exactly a slow burning drama, Terriers moves in calm and confidently breezy manner. This is a great tone for the show to have since it allows for a ton of world-building fir us viewers to get familiarized with the show's setting and characters.

The series begins with Hank tracking down the missing daughter of an old friend of his. This leads to Hank and Britt unwillingly discovering a conspiracy involving their home town, several shady characters and the city's top real estate mogul. Several episodes feature our heroes attempting to unravel this conspiracy.

Aside from this conspiracy, the duo must also fix their own life. Britt and his girlfriend are debating whether or not they should have a baby, while Hank is having a crisis is his ex-wife is remarrying soon. In an act of = impulsive recklessness, he buys their former home, much to the chagrin of everyone.

Even with this main plot, the show still offers room for the case-of-the-week format that procedural are known for. Thankfully, these cases are just as fun as the show itself.

One case, the third episode titled "Change Partners," has Hank and Britt trying to catch a client's wife in the act of adultery. However, the husband doesn't want proof of his wife cheating on him because he plans on divorcing her. Rather, he wants it because he has a fetish of seeing his wife (played by the great Olivia Williams) with other men.

image via: cnn.com

The episode, much like the show itself, is odd, unpredictable, thrilling and downright clever.

Sadly though, this show was cancelled due to low ratings-the series averaged around 680,000 viewers a week. In interviews, the stars of the show and the then president behind FX production blame its failure on the show's confused marketing (apparently, due to the show's poster and title, many viewers assumed the show was about illegal dog fighting.)

Personally, I blame it on the fact this this show was on the FX network, one that has given birth to such gritty, fast-paced shows such as Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Damages and more. Terriers is tonally different from those shows that obviously it didn't belong in that channel, so viewers weren't used to something like Terriers on the FX network.

Despite the fact that the show isn't available on home video, it's streaming on Netflix and co-producer  Ted Griffin has said in several interviews that he he's planning on a revival of the show of some sort, be it as a second season in Netflix or a TV movie.

I hope we see more of Hank and Britt. This series deserves a second chance.

Here's the show's opening theme music, which like the show, is a blast.

Are you planning on checking out Terriers?