jambalayaval55

I love a good police procedural. This is not a very good police procedural. There's not enough of the shoe-leather detective work, lost leads and push for a speedy result. There's a great emphasis on gut feelings and faulty reasoning, a lot of shoddy interviews and of tangential conversation that makes even armchair detectives say, "Whoa. This isn't good police work."

But it's those same attributes that makes this a compelling watch. It's NOT the same old-same old. The main characters are quirky, the actors aren't "the usual suspects" we see all the time, and lack of gunplay is a welcome reprieve.

I'd have liked to have seen this set elsewhere (not NYC). We see far too many similar shows set there. This feels much more like a Canadian drama; why not set it there? It would help make sense of some of the accents.

I'd watch just about anything Nicola Walker is in (and have done so), so I was eager to see what she'd do with this series. And it turns out, she's the perfect actor to be Annika.

In watching it, from the start I:

• loved that she broke the fourth wall.

• loved the use of myths and classics as a basis for each episode.

• loved that she's a strong female lead character who doesn't always get it right on the job but who ultimately wants to do a great job and cares for her fellow workers.

• loved that everyone is NOT PERFECT and that their lives are as messy as everyone else's is in real life.

The actual crimes are not really the point of this. In fact, plot-wise, it's a typical police procedural. But it's all the "other stuff" that makes it compelling to watch.

I would definitely watch many more seasons of "Annika," and I'm very disappointed that there seems to be only a few seasons and that we're left with a giant CLIFFHANGER!

"Munch" is that comfortable show that leaves you feeling satisfied and smiling (except for those cliffhangers that are so gripping). It's set in French law firm that sees more than its share of bizarre cases, employing even more bizarre tactics to win. (I know nothing about French law, but "whatever it takes to get my client off" seems to be acceptable.)

Munch herself is quite a character, pulling stunts and pretending to be that "little old-ish lady" who couldn't POSSIBLY have done THAT! It's wonderful to see a show with a lead who's not young, not on the hunt for a man, not thin or weight obsessed but who is smart, hard working and committed to those around her that matter to her.

This is also a family show in that the firm is a bit of a family, helping each member deal with their personal crises and being more or less accepting of everyone's foibles and shortcomings.

It's a nice show to stream, to get know the characters and to see something different than all the typical American legal shows.