If you loved True Detective, American Crime should be your next binge-watch pick

With the resurgence of the anthology genre – different stories, different characters, same actors – over the past few years, we’d be forgiven for thinking it was newly invented; it is not. Radio anthologies have been happening since the 1920s, and on television there have been dozens and dozens since the 1950s. The contrast now is we are seeing entire seasons, rather than episodes, comprising the anthology.

American Crime, which is now streaming in full on Showmax, fits in this category, along with Fargo, Feud, American Crime Story, American Horror Story, Genius, True Detective and Black Mirror. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that these are all superb series.

In his article listing the 10 best anthology series (at the time), Jake Black of Screen Rant comments: “When it comes to recent anthology series, the show that comes to people’s mind is surely True Detective, although it really should be American Crime … filled with standout performances, beautifully cold cinematography, and an unflinching tone that’s admirable for a primetime ABC series…”

A winning formula – or was it?

The core cast members in American Crime include Felicity Huffman, Timothy Hutton, Regina King, Richard Cabral and Benito Martinez.

Critics absolutely raved about the show, as if they couldn’t believe their luck to see a series like this on network television.

The New Yorker said, “John Ridley’s show is serious in an old-fashioned sense: sincere, thoughtful, and heartbreaking”; Vulture agreed, saying, “I’m grateful that a series like this one exists in the first place. That it’s so intelligently written and shot and thoughtfully acted is a marvellous bonus”; and The Hollywood Reporter called it “one of the best directed series on television, a show full of choices that are distinctive, even if some of them — the blinking cuts to black on obscenities — are acquired tastes”.

In 2015, the series received 10 Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

But despite all this, ratings were low and the series was cancelled after three seasons.

But don’t be put off…

This doesn’t mean the show isn’t truly excellent, especially for something from a Disney-owned network.

Having aired on network television in the States, which might not exactly be where viewers go for intense, deep, thought-provoking fare, may have worked against American Crime’s favour. Streaming episodes back to back makes much more sense for this kind of show.

Big themes, bigger emotion

Each season taps into some of our greatest fears: the death of a child, sexual abuse, bullying, violent crime. Fear begets anger and ugliness in the form of bigotry, racism and xenophobia. Topics like drug addiction, exploitation and human trafficking are confronted head-on by writer and creator John Ridley (Oscar-winning writer of 12 Years A Slave). “This is an intense and provocative show, punctuated with moments of raw emotion,” wrote Kathryn Shattuck for New York Times.

The characters and their actions are not always likeable; presented with so many sides to every story, it’s impossible to be sympathetic to all of them, nor can you dismiss any but the worst of the worst. It’s perhaps this that shows us we are more alike – even in small ways – than we’d like to believe.

That American Crime is thought-provoking is beyond dispute. It reminds us that facing the truth is uncomfortable, but that it’s also very necessary.

Season by season, in brief

Season 1 is set in Modesto, California, where a war veteran becomes the victim of a home invasion gone wrong and the lives of four people are forever changed after each one is connected to the crime, and shocking secrets about the deceased are revealed.

The second season takes us to Indianapolis, Indiana, where the co-captains of a private school’s basketball team are accused of sexually assaulting a male classmate and posting photographs of the incident online.

Season 3 is surely informed by Donald Trump and his immigrant policies; illegal workers in North Carolina pursuing the so-called American Dream discover it’s more often than not their worst nightmare.