So many streaming platforms, so many choices, and yet sometimes, it feels like there's nothing to see! Bored, I clicked the forward button on the remote to scroll through the suggested series and had already given up hope of finding a new series to go along with my crochet when Deadloch appeared.
The initial description doesn't do much for the series; it indicates that it is a comedy, that the first episode has a murder, and that the action takes place in a small town in Tasmania. To be honest, the location piqued my curiosity, but when I clicked on the play button, I had no idea there was much more to come!
The main plot of this 8-episode series it's around two detectives with very different personalities, the methodical Dulcie Collins and the too clumsy, often offensive Edie Redcliffe, as they investigate a series of crimes. They have the help of junior constable Abby, a young, very smart, but very insecure woman in a toxic relationship with the obnoxious forensic pathologist.
The actors are great, and I was immediately curious to know who they were. One thing that I really enjoy on the Amazon Prime streaming platform is the possibility to pause the frame and see the actors' names and a small biography.
The story is well-built, and the mystery deepens throughout the episodes. Without running the risk of spoilers, I bet no one awaits the ending!
However, the tone of this series is dark comedy. The characters are exaggerated; most are stereotypes that easily become comical, but for that very reason, being in the comedy genre, they allow us to touch on several very current and pressing issues, such as gender, sexism, colonialism, racism, discrimination, homophobia, gaslighting, and many others.
Everything happens during the Winter Festival in a small seaside town where several points of tension simmer, like between the recent lesbian community and the locals or much deeper and older tension between the indigenous and the white families who colonized and now own the land.
This Australian television series was created by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, inspired by the UK series Broadchurch, which I recommend, but with a humoristic tone. It premiered on Amazon Prime on June 2, 2023, so I believe that we will have to wait a bit for the second season. If there ever comes a second season, Amazon has not confirmed! Fingers cross.
