After the Verdict

Not too many crime shows manage to successfully combine a gripping plot with humour - but 'After the Verdict' definitely delivers both. I'm totally addicted and can't wait to crack this one!

I had really high hopes for this show, and was excited to watch when it finally came out. The premise is great, and most of the cast is fantastic, but the lead actress who plays Clara is just plain annoying. Her acting is way over the top, and her comedic timing is off. For instance, watch the scene where she bludgeons a car with a cello, and you'll know what I mean. The scene is just not funny, but it should have been, and would have been with a better actor. Going to persevere to find out whodunnit, and because im enjoying watching the rest of this great Aussie cast/ensemble, but it's not gripping me.

I'm giving this a 5, because it has potential. I normally I give series up to the 4th episode, before I bail on it, or continue. I had to struggle through 2 episodes. One of the main things that keep me interested, or like a show or movie, is the characters. Especially the protagonist. Unfortunately, the protagonist, Clara, has got to be one of the most annoying characters I've seen on screen. Now I don't know if it's the way the character was written, or it's Michelle Lim Davidson and her acting. She's like stand up comic (who isn't that good to begin with) who's trying too hard to act serious in a serious show. It just doesn't work for me. I just can't bring myself to watching another episode. Watching her is like listening to nails scratching a chalkboard. Every other character is ok. Even the real estate dude. His character is meant to be annoying, and the actor plays him off well. I get the correct response towards "Ollie". I don't think the Clara character is supposed to be annoying. Sometimes I think the character is supposed to be funny, but just comes off like a bad joke. And over acting. All the other characters don't trigger me. With the things going on in her life, you'd feel sorry for her. But the only thing that keeps popping into my head is, she brings it upon herself. Then plays like the victim.

It's too bad, the show has potential. Just can't get pass the Clara character. Maybe if she was played by a different actor, or the writers didn't make her so much of an insecure, lonely person, that pulls everyone into her world, without thinking how it would affect them. And then acts like she's the victim when schit happens to her. Just so that she fills that "void" in her. Could've made a character like this, but a lot less annoying.

Hopefully, others don't find her annoying like I do. If it weren't for Clara, I'd probably give this 6.5-7 (in the direction it was going).

After the Verdict's first miniseries is so great. Binged it in a couple of nights, and it's well paced, has great characterisation, and a real mystery that threads through well. I'm in my mid 30s and found lots of elements of the show (relationships, children, older parents, etc) both relatable and moving. Lots of fun for its Sydney humour, settings and observations, including just how painful the real estate market is. Clara is a great lead character who is relatable and the casting across the series is spot on. I'd love another series (don't know if that's possible though...) and more like this in Australian TV!

The story about some jury members doubting their not guilty verdict and coming to suspect the now-freed accused is interesting and almost reminds me of the film noir genre. The problem is two of the lead actors seem more like comics that can't break out of that character. Michelle Lim Davidson (Clara) acts almost like a teenager instead of a 30-something mother, regularly asking the other characters "is this ok to do?" Or, "shouldn't I feel this way?" At one point, she does a little jig in front of her Ex's shop, giving it the finger multiple times and the 'Bronx cheer," while saying she wish it would burn down (it does later that night). Really childish stuff. The young guy of the group, Lincoln Younes (Ollie) acts like a 19 year old college kid who thinks he understands everything, while bring vitally incapable at about everything. Even running a blender with no top on and spilling a shake everywhere. And the director thinks this is funny? Honestly, those two are just painful to watch. I think both need a year at RADA or the Actors Studio to learn how to act more seriously, and leave the adolescent behavior behind.