Do people still watch network TV anymore? I still watch network TV sometimes.
Right now what I'm watching on network TV is Stumptown, starring Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother).
Stumptown is set in Portland, Oregon (Stumptown is a nickname of Portland dating back to settler days) and centers on Dex Parios and her messed up life. Dex is a former US Marine suffering from PTSD and spending her disability cheques on booze and gambling. Almost by accident she ends up working as a private investigator.
Each episode has a standalone mystery-of-the-week, but there's also an ongoing story as Dex tries to build some kind of life for herself, and for her younger brother Ansel, who has Down's syndrome. Her care for her brother is one of Dex's few redeeming qualities, although in truth he's more often the one taking care of her. He's the only thing providing her any stability in her trainwreck life.
Dex is an interesting character, because in a lot of ways she's not very likable. She's a dirtbag with a heart of gold. She has a conscience and principles, but she's also selfish, self-pitying, and manipulative. She ruins everything she's part of. She creates chaos for everybody in her life as she self-medicates with booze and casual sex. You want to root for her, but you also want to grab her and shake some sense into her.
One of the treats of the show is Canadian actress Tantoo Cardinal, in a recurring role as Sue Lynn Blackbird, the chief of the local native band and operator of a big casino. Sue Lynn is also the mother of Dex's late boyfriend which is an ongoing source of stress between the two. Sue Lynn's morally flexible business practices and her personal connection to Dex result in Dex being Sue Lynn's go-to troubleshooter for jobs where discretion is required.
I am enjoying this.
-k