The dialogue is fun and snappy, the acting is good, but that's about it. Let's start with the biggest problem, first...
Girls taking on a classicly male protagonist role is fun, but ridiculous scenarios make suspension of disbelief impossible. When a woman fights two guys that outweigh her by 100 lbs or so, she will lose. One closed-fist punch by a large guy will crush her face. Men and women are different... writing a female protagonist solving problems the same way as a male would isn't progressive, it lacks imagination. She should be getting the upper hand by outsmarting the anagonists, not trying to match them punch-for-punch. She's not a 200 lbs protagonist with a 5 o'clock shadow... she's not even thick like a female mma fighter. She's a female lead with a small build fist-fighting her way out of her problem. I guess this is what passes for a strong female lead. I know it's not PC to point out how ridiculous this is, so nobody will say it out loud during the making of it, but having a female basically play a male protagonist will kill this show. As the ratings drop each week the makers of the show will be scratching their head wondering what's wrong?
Then there's major problem number 2...
This story doesn't feel natural, it feels like they started with a checklist... diverse cast, gambling problem, special needs kid, crazy Portland setting, PTSD from the military she dulls through sex, etc, etc... Once they had their PC checklist, they created a script around it. The story is predictable if you picture a male protagonist with multiple tours under his belt. The creators seem to think putting a female in the lead makes it harder to guess the direction of the story. It might if she was forced to take on the antagonists in a creative way instead of punching it out with the bad guys like every other male PI on TV.
Review of Stumptown
