It’s easy to give you an idea of what “Fortitude” is like and whether you might like it, because it’s not hard to find good shows that are pretty similar to the new Pivot drama.
It sits squarely at the center of a satisfying subgenre that has bubbled up in the last few years and is centered on visually ambitious dramas that skirt or avoid most conventional rules about how crime and punishment are handled on TV. Procedurals these are not.
Programs as varied as “Top of the Lake,” “Rectify,” “The Bridge,” “Banshee,” “Happy Valley,” “Fargo,” “The Missing,” “Broadchurch” and “The Fall” generally do two things really well: They immerse the viewer in the mood and feel of a specific place, and, via an array of believably complex characters, they examine the personal and professional relationships that can shield criminals from consequences. These dramas do follow detectives and other curious types as they hunt around for clues, but those writing these kinds of stories are rarely interested in frill-free searches for unknown evildoers. In fact, quite often the criminal in question is known to the community, or suspected by some, and for many of these shows, part of the point to demonstrate that more than one person shares the complicity for ongoing crimes that often reverberate into the past.
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“Fortitude” airs Thursday at 10:00 p.m. ET on Pivot.
Ryan McGee and I discussed the wave of Remote Noir programs, “Fortitude,” “Better Call Saul” and “The Americans” in the most recent Talking TV podcast, which is here, on iTunes and below:
