Wild Cards

I value how a show leaves me feeling at the end of it -- and this one romps it in as feel-good, so only low-stress vs nail-biting suspense, a crime so some whodunnit-like mystery, not too complex, and of course never forgetting a bit of sweet romantic push-pull and tension! Add in some hints here and there of other interesting components that provide food for thought ... like ... about what integrity and character really "look like," no matter what the law technically says ... what privilege really is, and perhaps equally, its lack, and how such questions can come up for deeper consideration if desired (but not required, just that there is a possibility available to delve into the realms of philosophy if you want).

But mainly, it is a fun program to watch! Entertaining! It is a good hour of TV and a very agreeable interlude I look forward to each week, what I prefer given life already holds so much dark and nasty stuff so I can do without also seeing that played out again, and worse, on my TV. There is a new story and combo of things happening each time here that keeps it fresh. And this is notwithstanding the two main characters' dynamics together that are, yes, formulaic. The show capitalizes on the 'tried and true' of the genre, because it works. And as a result, and like most of my TV, I don't mind some of the stretches thus required of me, that indeed every now and again (just like the basic premise altogether, let's just admit) some details to continue propelling the show forward may of course contradict "how that really works" outside the bounds of the fiction this show is.

I am a fan, in short! That includes not just the show at large, but the leads' for their often stellar performances, and how I respect significant parts of some shows especially for the writing, as well as really admire so much of the camera work. I hope enough others do too, so that season 2 will be approved without delay.

It's pretty much Hudson and Rex, swap out Rex for Max. Instead of a police dog, an attractive troublemaking potential love interest. A Murtaugh/ Riggs type buddy cop show with a fish out of water twist. She's an experienced con-artist, who got in hot water with the police... major crimes... and the police are letting her work off her jail sentence by solving crimes. On a trial basis. He's on thin ice with his job/ superiors also, could get back in good grace by solving crimes with his wisecracking criminal partner. It's not even vaguely realistic, it's totally over the top... imagine Hannah Montana solving crimes with Thomas Magnum. In Canada. Harmless/ mindless fun.

I gave it a chance because the ads looked interesting. I've watched CW shows forever. I've watched every episode of Supernatural. Anyway, it looked like a fun show. I'm glad I watched. I like the premise since it manages to put those two together. The whole cast has great chemistry, not just the leads. The story lines are interesting and often have humor to them. The two leads have great chemistry although I hope they don't have a romance. I'd rather see them as close platonic friends. More like a brother and sister relationship. I wish there were more than 10 episodes for the season. I have to mention, I'm 61 and have watched a decent amount of CW shows since it was the WB. That came out weird, but I think you can make sense of it.

I loved the escapist fantasy of buddy cop tv in the early 00s from Castle to Psych to White Collar. No one was as cool as Neil, as well dressed as Neil, as slick as Neil, as well versed in the arts as Neil, or as smooth a con artist as Neil.

Enter Max, basically the secret love child of White Collar's Neil caffrey and his sleek landlady June, with a Robin Hood twist. Max is sleek, well-dressed, and uber confident. She unabashedly uses her criminal connections and upper level friends to benefit both herself and her less fortunate friends.

Vanessa Morgan SPARKLES as Max from her charisma to her walk to her accents. Max is clearly the smartest, hottest, most cunning person in the room and that's okay.

This show features the hottest most established cast with Vanessa Morgan from Riverdale, THE original Daddy Jason Priestley, Jessica Jones' Terry Chen, and Schmigadoon's Karin Konoval. And, yes, Giacomo Gianniotti looks like a young David Gandy. I feel the producers demanded anyone incredibly hot who starred in super trendsetting shows in the past 5 years.

This show is a throwback to old school CW when it represented everything young, hot and sexy with smart, funny scripts and awesome casts to match.

I cannot talk enough about the positives of this pilot episode. CW set a super high bar. I hope it continues to support such a great show with an awesomely diverse cast. I absolutely LOVED The pilot episode. The cast meshed SO WELL. The writing was so smooth. The locations were amazing.

Honestly, it is light-hearted action fun but with that grown n sexy vibe that White collar did so well.

Update: After having watched three more episodes, the budget has drastically reduced since the pilot. It is now less White Collar's sexy adult crime territory and more in Psych's quirky crime solving territory. Although I have no idea why they'd use a high class con artist to solve local murders a la Jessica Fletcher, it is still a ton of fun.

Wild Cards appealed to me because I was already a fan of cop procedurals. The show reminds me of Castle, White Collar, and a bit of Leverage. It has the "will they won't they" aspect from Castle and the "can the criminal really be trusted" theme from White Collar.

There was one episode so far where there was a flashback of how the con was really orchestrated, something Leverage was known for. There was also one time Max had to climb through an air vent which reminded me of Parker from Leverage. While one can argue this show isn't doing anything special and just recycling previous shows of the genre, I still recommend it because of the quality of the writing. At first I thought Ellis's character was going to be very one-dimensional because the backstory behind his character was eerily similar to Beckett from Castle. Also the acting from Gianniotti felt a bit stiff but the details of his backstory were revealed quickly and he becomes a very relatable character who doesn't fall into the stereotype I thought he was going to be. The amount of banter between Max and Ellis every episode gives the show a very light-hearted tone. If you are looking for a dark and serious show, this isn't for you.

I think the show makes use of its side characters well. Max's dad George has a significant presence in the show and I think he's going to be a fan favourite. Ricky the butler is the smart guy who is always available and is great at computers. Simmons and Yates haven't had much development so far but they've been slowly becoming less adversarial to our main characters. J. J., an unassuming minor character, was surprisingly later featured in episode 7 and that episode has been one of my favourites so far.

The CBC isn't exactly known for producing great shows but this one is definitely an exception. The budget seems to be significantly higher than the early seasons of Hudson and Rex (comparison only because they're both Canadian cop shows from this era). The set designs, scenes and editing look modern and polished and it didn't look like they had to cut any corners which is different than a lot of Canadian shows I've seen. Looking forward to future seasons!