‘Low Winter Sun’ premiere review: A dark, gritty taste of a dark, gritty world

Detroit feels like the perfect setting for “Low Winter Sun”: Like the police officers that inhabit its streets, it is a place that is surrounded by decay and dreams that have fallen by the wayside. All you have to do these days is watch a few minutes of the premiere to figure out just what sort of series this is.

But is this world of crime, corruption, and a cop-killer really one that makes for great television? The positive here is that Mark Strong gives a great performance as Frank Agnew, a man that is clearly a complicated character. It’s no coincidence that this show is being placed on the same night as “Breaking Bad.” Frank and Walter White are both complicated, dark characters, and for entirely different reasons. (And yes, AMC probably wants the lead-in ratings.)

But while “Low Winter Sun” had a solid premiere episode, and we did very much appreciate the idea of Michigan getting some money back into its economy courtesy of the show, was this premiere really that fantastic? The problem that we had with it is that most AMC dramas have a signature character that we end up loving, almost to the point where we cannot really imagine the show surviving without them. “Low Winter Sun” is still a little bit lacking when it comes to that; there’s no Walt or Jesse, Linden or Holder, or Don Draper here yet. That could change in time, but in a sea of other cop dramas and other shows that deal with corruption, it is really going to need to build itself up over the next few weeks if it wants to be taken seriously.

Overall, what was your take on the “Low Winter Sun” premiere? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below! If you want to read some more news related to “Breaking Bad”, just be sure to visit the link here.

Photo: AMC