Crime TV Heroes: On ‘The Mysteries of Laura,’ Laura Diamond, and our season 3 hopes
Before we begin this latest chapter in our Crime TV Heroes article series here at CarterMatt, we should go ahead and make one thing rather clear when it comes to “The Mysteries of Laura”: There is no telling at present if the show is coming back or not for a third season. We’re leaning towards the answer being “yes” thanks mostly to its amazing staying power, but NBC are the ones who hold the cards on that decision, and they will most likely next month.
For now, we want to take a few minutes analyzing further why the title character of Laura Diamond (played by Debra Messing) stands out from the crime TV pack, why we root for her, and what we would like to see next.
Why she’s a hero – Where do we start here? Obviously she’s a good role model to many of the people she knows and interacts with, but beyond that you get the sense constantly that she’s out to do the right thing and will put herself in danger to help others. She’s resilient, and of the people that we’ve spotlighted in this series, she’s also one of the most resourceful and intelligent. The ways that Laura goes about solving cases harkens back to many classic murder-mystery shows where you have someone who in some ways is still a little bit ahead of the curve.
What she can learn – This is a rare case where we saw there are no defining flaws to the character. Laura’s not a tortured soul, she’s not dirty, and while she can at times get tunnel vision, many in this job do. For her, it is all about evolution, whether it be moving up the ladder, learning the latest in technology to be the best crime-solver possible, or simply keeping the strongest people around her and knowing when to get help. She just needs to remember to keep all options open. She doesn’t need to change who she is.
What we’d like to see from her – We know that this show is largely a procedural, but we do like it when crime shows do have some sort of long-term threat that they can forge an emotional relationship with. It drives them further, and it also gives the actor behind the role that much more when it comes to great material. Think 3XK on “Castle” or Pelant on “Bones.” We don’t want to see anything happen to Laura, but giving her a great rival and casting a known actor could bring the show some more publicity. Anytime you’ve got a show on the bubble, you need as much of that as possible.
Michael Goldman
May 2, 2016 @ 1:05 am
What I’d like to see is MOL GONE! Better shows with better ratings than this piece of garbage in the last 5 years have been cancelled by NBC. Everybody keeps saying that the low ratings are acceptable because lots of ratings are dropping, but this supposed ratings dropping problem is MAN MADE, NOT ACT OF GOD! Yes, there are more options. Networks hire people to anticipate problems like this. These people aren’t coming with solutions. FIRE THEM. MAKE MORE SHOWS! GET MORE CREATIVE PEOPLE WHO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX! REPEAT UNTIL YOU FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE. NBC isn’t firing ANYBODY! Until I see action. bringing back MOL for any length is unacceptable. They should have fired tons of people last season. Very little has changed.