Narrative Commentator

As she starts investigating the case, not always wisely, Mickey soon discovers that to get anywhere, she's going to need to face up to her past. She starts by seeking help from her former police partner, Truman. That's British actor Nicholas Pinnock, a real mensch whose friendship she has betrayed. But that's not all.

Mickey has her own dark secrets, and the quest for the magenta-haired Casey forces her to expose them. In a series of flashbacks, we learn the painful family history that led the sisters to be raised by their grandfather, a gruff but essentially decent man, played by that great hard-ass actor John Domet. And we see what drove them apart.

Mickey has her own dark secrets, and the quest for the magenta-haired Casey forces her to expose them. In a series of flashbacks, we learn the painful family history that led the sisters to be raised by their grandfather, a gruff but essentially decent man, played by that great hard-ass actor John Domet. And we see what drove them apart.

Mickey has her own dark secrets, and the quest for the magenta-haired Casey forces her to expose them. In a series of flashbacks, we learn the painful family history that led the sisters to be raised by their grandfather, a gruff but essentially decent man, played by that great hard-ass actor John Domet. And we see what drove them apart.

Here, Truman asks Mickey about Casey's disappearance and gets a hint of potential danger.

Here, Truman asks Mickey about Casey's disappearance and gets a hint of potential danger.

Here, Truman asks Mickey about Casey's disappearance and gets a hint of potential danger.

Like six weeks.

Like six weeks.

Like six weeks.

If you watch a lot of police shows, you'll know that Long Bright River belongs to the operatic subgenre that includes Mayor of Easttown and perhaps the mother of such shows, the British series Happy Valley, all of which focus on women cops whose family crises are woven deeply and inextricably into the mysteries they're solving. Reacher, they're not.

If you watch a lot of police shows, you'll know that Long Bright River belongs to the operatic subgenre that includes Mayor of Easttown and perhaps the mother of such shows, the British series Happy Valley, all of which focus on women cops whose family crises are woven deeply and inextricably into the mysteries they're solving. Reacher, they're not.

If you watch a lot of police shows, you'll know that Long Bright River belongs to the operatic subgenre that includes Mayor of Easttown and perhaps the mother of such shows, the British series Happy Valley, all of which focus on women cops whose family crises are woven deeply and inextricably into the mysteries they're solving. Reacher, they're not.

If Long Bright River is less enjoyable than those earlier series, that's because it's less good at infusing its grown-up themes with a sense of pop melodrama. It can feel a tad depressive. While Seyfried is an actress I've long admired, she doesn't automatically strike one as a cop. And in fact, her best scenes are the intimate ones with Casey, Truman, and her grandfather.

If Long Bright River is less enjoyable than those earlier series, that's because it's less good at infusing its grown-up themes with a sense of pop melodrama. It can feel a tad depressive. While Seyfried is an actress I've long admired, she doesn't automatically strike one as a cop. And in fact, her best scenes are the intimate ones with Casey, Truman, and her grandfather.

If Long Bright River is less enjoyable than those earlier series, that's because it's less good at infusing its grown-up themes with a sense of pop melodrama. It can feel a tad depressive. While Seyfried is an actress I've long admired, she doesn't automatically strike one as a cop. And in fact, her best scenes are the intimate ones with Casey, Truman, and her grandfather.

She's great at conveying Mickey's struggle to do the right thing in a neighborhood that has learned to treat the police as an enemy that harasses them but doesn't protect them. Painfully self-contained, she lives a life of anxious responsibility, forever trying to safeguard her sister and her son. You can understand her fears.

She's great at conveying Mickey's struggle to do the right thing in a neighborhood that has learned to treat the police as an enemy that harasses them but doesn't protect them. Painfully self-contained, she lives a life of anxious responsibility, forever trying to safeguard her sister and her son. You can understand her fears.

She's great at conveying Mickey's struggle to do the right thing in a neighborhood that has learned to treat the police as an enemy that harasses them but doesn't protect them. Painfully self-contained, she lives a life of anxious responsibility, forever trying to safeguard her sister and her son. You can understand her fears.

They live in an area of Philly whose decline embodies a profound social collapse. Incomes low, jobs vanished, schools lousy, opioids replacing hope. Kensington is a place of ragtag shops, worn-out housing, terrifying street life, and unhappy faces.