Having just watched this outstanding series for the third time, I really find it hard to believe how Terriers struggled to find an audience - the marketing department at FX should hang their heads in shame.
It's up there with Firefly, Studio 60 and Freaks and Geeks, as one of the great TV shows cut short far too early. Having said that, maybe the reason all of these shows felt so good were that they never got the chance to go on too long, ruining the memory of former greatness.
Terriers revolves around Hank (Donal Logue) and Britt (Michael Raymond-James), a couple of private eyes working in Ocean Beach, San Diego. The best episodes involve an ongoing story that is introduced in the pilot and concludes in the final episode of the 13 part season. This story is complex, nail-biting and heart-breaking, leaving you wanting more. While the other single case episodes suffer in comparison, they are still solidly entertaining and quirky enough to elevate them from the norm.
The show also succeeds in providing us with two main characters who we genuinely care about, despite their pasts and personality flaws. Hank's sobriety and continuing love for his ex-wife Gretchen (Kimberley Quinn) and Britt's criminal past and romantic problems with Katie (Laura Allen) are as important to the show as the cases they solve. Great performances and writing throughout make this a near-perfect series.
There really is little wrong with the show other than the poor viewing figures it received. The ending set it up perfectly for another season, but it still works extremely well as the one-off season it turned out to be.
It's up there with Firefly, Studio 60 and Freaks and Geeks, as one of the great TV shows cut short far too early. Having said that, maybe the reason all of these shows felt so good were that they never got the chance to go on too long, ruining the memory of former greatness.
Terriers revolves around Hank (Donal Logue) and Britt (Michael Raymond-James), a couple of private eyes working in Ocean Beach, San Diego. The best episodes involve an ongoing story that is introduced in the pilot and concludes in the final episode of the 13 part season. This story is complex, nail-biting and heart-breaking, leaving you wanting more. While the other single case episodes suffer in comparison, they are still solidly entertaining and quirky enough to elevate them from the norm.
The show also succeeds in providing us with two main characters who we genuinely care about, despite their pasts and personality flaws. Hank's sobriety and continuing love for his ex-wife Gretchen (Kimberley Quinn) and Britt's criminal past and romantic problems with Katie (Laura Allen) are as important to the show as the cases they solve. Great performances and writing throughout make this a near-perfect series.
There really is little wrong with the show other than the poor viewing figures it received. The ending set it up perfectly for another season, but it still works extremely well as the one-off season it turned out to be.