I Watch TV: Mare Of Easttown

Mare Of Easttown

Mare is a detective in Easttown, a commuter town for Philadelphia (I think). A girl went missing a year ago and people aren’t happy she didn’t find her. Also her son committed suicide, her daughter-in-law is a recovering heroin addict who wants to get her son (Mare’s grandson) back, and she’s divorced.

This is about standard for the families in this 7 episode TV series, and family is something it keeps circling and coming back to. It’s why there are crimes and also why they are hard to solve.

Things accelerate when a young mother is murdered after a confrontation with the girlfriend of the baby’s father. The chief calls in a detective from the county and after some friction Mare and he go around stirring up everyone, checking under every stone. Inevitably this causes more problems and trouble and violence.

It’s immensely well put together and acted, the regular life and problems even more fascinating than the mystery plot (which would not be out of place in a dozen other shows). Indeed the crime and grit and griminess are part of the fabric of the show and town.

Watch This: Some good crime drama
Don’t Watch This: It’s a bit grim really