Reboots continue to be the go-to for many a television studio. You name it – comedy, drama, reality, animated – no genre is safe from revisiting the well of a hit TV show. Night Court, Dexter, Beavis and Butthead, Will & Grace, and Party Down, just to name a handful, have been brought back to life. Reboots are tricky. How to recognize the original series and update it to attract new viewers without turning off the longtime fan base? Some are good (Perry Mason), some not so good (X-Files). Coming up, True Blood and Frasier. Yikes! So, what to make of the Justified reboot? One of the best shows of the 2010s is back in a completely different setting with only the main character back from the original series. And the lead character is not in the novel that inspires the reboot. Hmm….
Justified was based on Elmore Leonard’s (Get Shorty, Out of Sight) stories about U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, particularly the short-story collection Fire in the Hole. The Marshal, played with pithy perfection by Timothy Olyphant, dispensed his own brand of morally muddy justice in Kentucky, from the backwoods of the hollers to the civic halls in Lexington. He was known as “quick draw” for a reason. A unique and modern take on a western, Justified ran for six seasons on FX from 2010-15. The stellar cast of supporting actors included Walton Goggins, in the role of a lifetime as Boyd Crowder, and Margo Martindale, Kaitlyn Dever, Natalie Zea, among others.
In Justified: City Primeval Marshal Givens has left Kentucky for Florida, adjusted to fighting crime in Miami while helping raise his daughter. After a chance encounter on a highway, he soon finds himself in Detroit pursuing criminal Clement Mansell, aka the Oklahoma Wildman (played by Boyd Holbrook, Narcos). Mansell has been evading the local police with the assistance of his lawyer, Carolyn Wilder (Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard). Adelaide Clemens (Rectify) portrays Sandy, Mansell’s cannabis-loving girlfriend. And, in what has to be a family highlight, Olyphant’s daughter, Vivian, is Givens’ daughter Willa.
Leonard’s City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit inspires the adaptation. Givens is not a character in High Noon but is inserted into the story of the novel. Based on the first two episodes (and not having read the novel), the screenwriters seem to have created an enjoyable fresh take on a popular character. The Marshal still has his wit, charming smile, gleaming eyes, and distinctive hat. The unforeseen detour to Detroit is ensnaring him more than he anticipated and is ruining the road trip plans with his daughter. Plus, how does he keep a 15-year-old out of trouble when she’s left alone all day in the hotel? His sojourn in Detroit appears indefinite as a prominent judge is killed putting Givens, Wilder, and Mansell on a collision course. The suspense, humor, and twists of the early episodes will undoubtedly be elevated as the story plays out. So far, it’s both an edge-of- your-seat experience and a satisfying feeling.
(Justified: City Primeval premiered with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, July 18th at 10:00 PM Pacific Time and then will shift to single shows on Tuesdays for the duration of its eight-episode season. Hulu subscribers can watch each new episode the day after it airs on FX. If you want to start from the beginning, all 78 episodes of Justified are also streaming on Hulu.)
D² Rating (based on the first two episodes) ◼◼◼◩☐
Trivia: What TV series did Timothy Olyphant star in along with Drew Barrymore as their suburban lives are upended when she becomes a zombie?
Answer: Santa Clarita Diet
Comments
2 responses to “Justified: City Primeval: Marshal Givens is Back, This Time in the Big City”
Love “Justified” and all the amazing characters and actors that portrayed them. Looking forward to this follow up to the original series.
Thanks for commenting, Kathy! I think City Primeval is pretty good so far.