Backstrom

Starring: Rainn Wilson (13 episodes), Genevieve Angelson (13 episodes), Kristoffer Polaha (13 episodes), Page Kennedy (13 episodes), Beatrice Rosen (13 episodes), Thomas Dekker (13 episodes), Dennis Haysbert (13 episodes), Sarah Chalke (6 episodes), Rizwan Manji (5 episodes), Adam Beach (3 episodes), Inga Cadranal (3 episodes), Robert Forster (2 episodes), Lolita Davidovich (2 episodes), Ben Hollingsworth (2 episodes)
Directed by: Kevin Hooks (2 episodes), Jace Alexander (1 episode), Sarah Pia Anderson (1 episode), Adam Arkin (1 episode), David Boyd (1 episode)
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
2015

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Lt. Everett Backstrom (Rainn Wilson) leads Portland's Elite Special Crimes Unit, taking on the highest profiles cases, while battling against his own addictive and abrasive personality.

Review:
Tim: I have to say, I'm pretty bummed that Fox canceled "Backstrom" after only one season. I usually have a pretty good eye for television series, so I don't often invest my time in endeavors that will end early. While I can't say I loved the show, it was still a fun diversion. I really liked seeing Rain Wilson back on television after his "The Office" days. This was a show I never quite loved, but I would have enjoyed continuing to watch it.

Some of the complaints I heard was that this show was just a slight tweak to "House". You have a brilliant but awful protagonist who solves cases no one else can solve. I never consistently watched that show, so it wasn't a big deal to me. I like the idea of a brilliant but difficult person, so I had no real issues with the similarity between the shows.

I do like Rainn Wilson and it was fun seeing him in a very different role to Dwight. Everett Backstrom is a pretty fascinating character and I loved the fleshing out of his story- from his family drama and dysfunction to his health issues, etc. I felt like we truly got to know this character as the season went on. It would have been fun to explore him more. Genevieve Angelson was a great addition to the cast, but I felt like the show forgot about her as the season progressed. She was an essential character at the beginning, but eventually became more of an afterthought. I enjoyed Dennis Haysbert and the reminder that he's actually an actor and can do so much more than commercials. I always enjoy seeing Sarah Chalke, although I do wish she had more exciting things to do. The rest of Backstrom's team were good in a television cast kind of way. Kristoffer Polaha did emerge as a bit of scene stealer as the show went on. I liked the casting of Robert Forster and Adam Beach in their smaller guest roles. There were times I really liked Thomas Dekker and an equal amount of times I didn't like him. I do think he got more screen time than he deserved. As a whole, though, the cast was likeable.

I'm not sure exactly where the show went wrong. There's a lot to like here, but it just didn't connect with audiences enough. While I enjoyed it, it was just a slightly better than average cop drama/comedy. I don't blame audiences for abandoning the show, but I personally was happy sticking with it. I do wish the show got a second season, but I'll have to make due with enjoying the short time I had with this series.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine