(TV SERIES) Furious Season 1 - A Dark and Heavy Crime Drama Series Loosely Inspired by 1987 Movie Black Widow

Few weeks ago while I was checking on Disney+, I found this series and another one which were both intriguing for me. However just like the usual Hulu original series, it was having one episode per week release (except for the first three that were released at the same time). Two days ago I noticed the last episode would be released on Monday, so I decided to start watching the day before and finished it last night. OK then, I'll get on with the series now.

Brief Story Line

Rookie FBI agent Alice Black (Emmy Rossum - Cold Pursuit, Shameless TV series etc) who was formerly from NYPD, was asked by her old partner Detective Danny Kelly (Scoot McNairy - Man on Fire TV series, Luckiest Girl Alive etc) to look into the death of a wealthy billionaire's son. Though it looked like a simple overdoze, Alice was suspicious with similar case that occurred 14 years before and tried to bring it to the attention of Nora Washington (Quincy Tyler Bernstine - Power TV series etc), the FBI's head of sex crime units. 

Meanwhile the perpetrator was a mysterious young woman (Lola Petticrew - Bloodlands TV series, Tuesday etc) who managed to be undetected and was aiming for another victim. As the investigation continued, it would appear the case was bigger than just a normal serial killer on the loose. Things gotten complicated with the personal issues Alice was having which might hinder her work.

So what would happen to Alice and the perpetrator? You could find out in this series.

End of Brief Story Line

Just few days earlier, I was watching a movie about serial killer so I could not help feeling the weight of seeing another one here. The series started off with brief scene on the killer in action and the introduction of the main cast. Somehow I could immediately feel that this would be a heavy series and a bit gloomy. The characters seemed to be a bit depressed like Alice who had rough past with NYPD, Nora who became head after years of struggle, Danny who was having it tough in his position due to Alice and obviously the very dark experience of the serial killer.

Anyway, the first few episodes were pretty exciting for me as we were shown the killer's methodical way of getting to her victims without getting caught and also the investigation done by Alice and the rest of the FBI with NYPD. Mid way through the series as more information were revealed, it was getting clear that the case would not be so easy to close especially with so many complications surrounding Alice. I think the most amazing part was when Alice finally encountered the killer. The final 3 episodes were the best to me with few shocking surprises, particularly the part in the middle of season finale. The ending was brilliant too despite quite predictable. 

Originally I thought this would be a limited series that would finish after 8 episodes. Apparently it was already renewed for second season. It is unclear yet where the series would be heading whether to focus on certain characters or go with different case. Nevertheless it would be pretty interesting especially with Alice character development. Most episodes in the first season was having duration of 50+ minutes though the final episode was only 45 minutes. During closing credits, I saw the name of Emmy Rossum as one of the executive producers and I also noticed it was inspired by the movie Black Widow written by Ronald Bass (writer of Rain Man, Step Mom etc). The series itself was created by Elizabeth Meriwether (writer of No Strings Attached, creator of New Girl sitcom and critically acclaimed Dying For Sex mini series etc). I read that critics were very impressed with the series and Emmy Rossum's performance was highly praised. I myself thought Lola Petticrew was excellent as well.

In addition to the above four main cast, the series had some support cast like Jake Lacy (All Her Fault mini series, Johnny English Strikes Again etc) as NYPD detective Marshall Connely, Rob Yang (She Rides Shotgun, American Rust TV series etc) as FBI Agent Choi, Steve Way (Ramy TV series etc) as the man with special care requirement Alden, Danny McCarthy (The Exorcist: Believer etc) as Nora's previous supervisor ASAC George, Peter McRobbie (Brokeback Mountain etc) and Hope Davis (Your Honor TV series etc) as father daughter Jay Easton and Emma respectively. There were also other guest stars such as Rob Delaney (Bad Monkey TV series etc) as Oliver, Campbel Scott (Jurassic World Dominion etc) as Easton's family lawyer Hal Hartford and several others. All of them did well in their roles here, with my personal favorite Rob Yang who brought Agent Choi to life as the only one that gave lighter moments in here.

Overall this was an interesting crime drama series. Though it felt heavy, particularly when the story involved Alice and the killer, it was still pretty entertaining watching the little game of cat and mouse and a bit of psychological war. The side story of Alice past personal problem was OK. There was something oddly familiar with her and Danny that reminded me of Will Trent series but that's just my feeling. The shocking revelations in the last few episodes were wonderful too and the acting of the two lead cast was quite excellent worthy of the praises. And the ending was quite satisfying even if there were few things that did not have proper closure which likely would be addressed in next season. So if you are interested in this kind of series, then I think you would enjoy this one. But if you are having trouble keeping your mind fully concentrated in deep and heavy topic case, then it might not suit you. The choice is yours.

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars