Crime dramas are the genre of TV shows I’m more likely to watch if someone is willing to watch with me. Defending Jacob and Perry Mason caught my eye with their marquee names and sleek production styles, and I roped in some bingeing buddies. My mom and I gave eight hours over three days to Defending Jacob on Apple TV+ starring Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery. Yes, I got her to watch because she likes a crime a show and she loved Downton Abbey. And, one of my sisters got me to watch Perry Mason starring Matthew Rhys and Tatiana Maslany on HBO with her. So, were they worth the watch?
Defending Jacob, Limited Series
Crime Drama TV-MA, Apple TV+
Chris Evans continues his career post-Captain America with another murder mystery. Although, Defending Jacob is quite different in tone to Knives Out. The show is based on William Landay’s novel of the same name. The show opens on a typical Autumn school day. And we see the Barber family going about their morning routines in their affluent Massachusetts town. The dad, Andy (Evans), is an Assistant District Attorney. The mom, Laurie (Dockery), works in the non-profit world. And their 14-year-old son is played by Evans’ Knives Out co-star Jaedan Martell.
The story really starts when a teenage boy, Jacob’s classmate, is found murdered on a path in a forest near the school. The first episode does a lot in showing why Andy Barber should probably not be involved in the investigation. Andy is at the school interviewing students, and you can tell by their mannerisms that talking to Andy is uncomfortable. Not necessarily because he’s an Assistant DA but because he’s Jacob’s father. Listen, I’m not spoiling much by telling you Jacob eventually becomes a suspect – the title of the show is Defending Jacob.
The show is less about whether Jacob committed murder and more about the psychology of people. The three members of the Barber family deal with their trauma in very different ways. And in Andy’s case, we learn there is a direct correlation between his past to who he is as an adult. If there is a problem, Andy will find a solution, or he will compartmentalize it. He’s perpetually in survival mode, putting his family above all else.
Laurie, on the other hand, can love someone and still try to see them for who they are the good, the shortcomings, the faults. So, while Andy is going to great lengths to secure Jacob’s acquittal, Laurie is thinking back to when Jacob was a child and even his demeanor now that he’s on trial for murder. Her questioning isn’t just a reaction to Jacob’s arrest. It’s also the result of information Andy compartmentalized coming to light.
Evans does a great job of conveying how a person can get away with openly hiding his coping mechanism as his drive for success in all aspects of his life. As Laurie, Dockery wonderfully shows inner turmoil. Meanwhile, Martell’s portrayal of Jacob ranges from normal mumbling adolescence to moments where his complete lack of emotional affect is disturbingly convincing.
Aside from Evans, Dockery, and Martell, the show is well cast. There are both high profile and familiar faces. In fact, I’m sure you’ll have seen most of the cast in something else before. It’s a talented cast that is diverse, but no character is there to fulfill a stereotype.
The contemporary Apple TV+ crime drama has plenty of Apple product on display. And the whole production is reflective of Apple’s seamless and streamlined aesthetic. The pacing of the show is perfect in that it is steady. But then each episode gives you payoff with more background information about the characters and new evidence that is impossible to ignore. My mom and I had very similar reactions at the end of Defending Jacob. The ending is complete, but not definitive. The show stays with you for a few days. And I realized that’s why it was brilliant, and that’s why I think it’s worth a watch.
Perry Mason, 1 Season
Crime Drama TV-MA, HBO
HBO’s Perry Mason reboot seems a convergence of the current obsession with true crime podcasts and bankable intellectual property. If not, I cannot understand why creators Ron Fitzgerald and Rollin Jones would relaunch Erle Stanley Gardner’s famed attorney Perry Mason.
The previous adaptation of Gardner’s character was more akin to those cozy Masterpiece Mysteries you’ve likely seen with your favorite Boomer. This rendition is the grittier cousin from the Boardwalk Empire side of the tracks. And there is a reason for that. Behind the scenes at Perry Mason has a few notable Boardwalk Empire alums. As a reinvented origin story, you don’t have to be a fan of the original Perry Mason show or films.
The eight-episode season follows one crime, a kidnapping gone wrong to the conclusion of the subsequent murder trial. Originally a vehicle for Robert Downey Jr, he suggested placing Mason in his pulp-fiction roots of the 1930s. The project eventually landed at HBO as a limited series with Downey still attached as Executive Producer. But instead, we have the very talented Matthew Rhys (The Americans) taking on the titular role. Rhys has quite the ensemble cast. Mason’s mentor/father figure is E.B. Jonathon (John Lithgow). Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) plays Sister Alice, an enigmatic Evangelical inspired by the media celebrity Aimee Semple who was a pioneer of modern-day televangelism.
Juliet Rylance and Chris Chalk play stock Mason characters Della Street and Paul Drake, albeit far more fleshed out here than in the original courtroom procedural. And there’s a whole gang of seasoned character actors. But the actor I was most excited to see in any scene was Veronica Falcón as Lupe Gibbs. She was amazing. She’s strong and feminine and a boss, and human. She has vulnerabilities, and she lets us see them, but not in a damaged or frail way. Fans of Queen of the South will already know her, but for me, she was a discovery.
The production of the show is meticulous. The small details that bring a period drama to life are all there. There is a joy in seeing things from a bygone time without censorship from its own era. Did you know Hispanic and Black people lived and work in 1930’s California? Did you know women were sitting in positions of power back then too? I think we all know these things, but it’s nice to see it portrayed on screen. Especially so when it’s done in a way to highlight their individual relationships with society. In the way, they navigate through a White and male-dominated time. The female characters law secretary Della Street, media sensation Sister Alice, small business owner/pilot Lupe Gibbs, and bereaved mother/wife/pawn Emily Dodson are complex, whole characters that shine.
Character-driven dramas are my favorite kind of story. There are only so many stories, but people? People come in all kinds, and making them mix is what makes for great entertainment. I would say this crime drama lost the plot but was there a plot to lose? Yes, it’s an origin story, and we get a slow development of who Perry is and what makes him tick.
But for a show that will easily appeal to fans of true crime podcasts and ripped-from-the-headlines crime dramas, the writers seem more concerned with placing easter eggs that many Gen Xers and most Millennials likely won’t get. And they seem less concerned with developing their plot of the interwoven corruption in Los Angelos at that time. We see the crooked systems of Sister Alice’s church, the police, and even Hollywood. We see these few people of Los Angelos thriving despite the recession that is affecting all others. But we don’t get a sense of completion.
As I said, the attention to detail is meticulous. I would expect nothing less from HBO, producer Susan Downey, or director Tim Van Patten. But I do have one note for Van Patten: please get with the times. In the first episode, there is a subplot involving a Fatty Arbuckle type movie star and an It-girl. The scenes have a very late-90s to mid-00s HBO style. And that is not a compliment. My note is not for the writers because the storyline itself is welcome. But there is always a choice directors make with their shot lists. Try to do better than recycling old shot lists from Boardwalk Empire. What worked so well before is now formulaic and best put to rest.
Anything is better when not watched alone because you immediately have a sounding board. With Perry Mason, my sister and I went back and forth on which elements we liked and which ones left us dissatisfied. Visual media lends itself to ambiguity in a way the written word does not. Defending Jacob used this strength to its advantage. The makers of Perry Mason are hoping to fool you with the gloss and grit of their production. And hope you don’t realize they’ve turned in an incomplete assignment.
Perhaps this incompleteness is why the show is no longer a limited series and will now have a second season. I’m not sure I’ll be inclined to watch. Will the show explore certain characters or storylines further in any future season? And even with that, I’m not sure I trust the Perry Mason team to do better in round two.
