2015 is already shaping up to be a very promising year for Netflix’s original programming. Tina Fey’s newest comedy juggernaut “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” which had its first season released earlier this month, is hilarious with endlessly quotable one-liners and has found a breakout star in Tituss Burgess. Meanwhile, the streaming service’s acclaimed political drama “House of Cards” recently dropped a solid third season to positive reviews.
However, Netflix’s biggest accomplishment of the year so far is its neo-noir family drama “Bloodline.” The show is a deeply intriguing drama for adults that never talks down to you. An examination of familial ties and secrets, this series keeps you readily engaged with twists and reveals that will leave you blindsided and eager for the next episode.
From the creators of “Damages,” “Bloodline” focuses on a respectable Florida Keys family and their hidden past and wounds. Academy Award winner Sissy Spacek and Sam Shephard star as the heads of the Rayburn family and owners of a beachside resort. In the season premiere, the two are celebrating the 45th anniversary of the hotel, with their adult children. There’s the golden son, detective and our occasional narrator John [Kyle Chandler], his hot headed younger brother Kevin [Broadway veteran Norbert Leo Butz], and their sister Meg [Linda Cardellini], a lawyer who strives to keep the peace in the family. Black sheep eldest son Danny [Ben Mendelsohn] returns as well, setting in motion an irreparable chain of events that will drive the action. Like the first season of “Damages” [or more recently Showtime’s “The Affair”] the series features brief flash-forward scenes which reveal bloody consequences.
The cast is superb. There isn’t a weak performance to be found among the ensemble, with each actor and actress creating a complex character with secrets and scars to spare. Chandler, of “Friday Night Lights” fame, is billed as the show’s lead, but the real star is relatively unknown Mendelsohn who plays the shady eldest sibling. He gives the character surprising depth and has incredible chemistry in his scenes with everyone, particularly Spacek and Chandler. You never know whether to trust Danny or not and that’s due almost entirely to Mendelsohn’s performance, one that he’ll hopefully see an Emmy nomination for.
I have to give a disclaimer, though, that while the show is extremely worthwhile it is fairly slow. There are times when it feels like the action has almost stopped completely, but that only serves to increase the suspense and make the viewer more antsy for something important to happen. But while certainly a slow burn, the payoff is certainly worth sticking it out.
