Alice works as a high school English teacher and is married to her husband, Doug. Brett serves as the society’s manager and has two delightful children. Catherine is a thriving real estate agent and the society’s vice president. And the newest member, Birdie, lives a comfortable life as a socialite and bestselling author.

But there are weeds growing in the lives of these society members.

You see, Birdie only joined the society after a reckless driving incident, which legally mandated that she complete community service hours. She’s also trying to reconnect with her biological son, Ford, whose adoptive parents want Birdie completely out of the picture. Meanwhile, Alice discovers that someone shot and killed her missing dog. After Brett divorces his wife for cheating on him, he must compete for his children’s affection with his wife’s new husband, Connor. Catherine, to compensate for her husband’s cold attitude starts an affair with a coworker named Gary—serving as just one of many of the man’s affair partners, she discovers.

Clearly, Alice, Brett, Catherine and Birdie each have a weed in their lives that they need to take care of.

And buried deep beneath the soil of the Gross Pointe Garden, one of these weeds has been, um, taken care of.

The only question: Who?

Whodunit With a Twist

If you’re familiar with “whodunit” style murder mysteries, you probably know what to expect: Someone finds a battered but recognizable dead body, a detective interviews the potential suspects and finally the murderer is revealed at the end.

But Grosse Pointe Garden Society is a whodunit with a twist.

Battered and anxious, Alice, Brett, Catherine and Birdie heap piles of dirt onto an unidentified dead body in the opening sequence. The series’ detective seems to be in cahoots with one of the murderers. And the audience waits with bated breath for the victim to be revealed.  

But there’s more to the show’s twisted nature than its narrative spin.

Characters use profanity, including “b–ch,” d–k,” and “a–” and misuses of God’s name, and several characters indulge in alcohol usage and smoking. Additionally, in the second episode of the series, characters allude to abortion.

Several plot lines feature romantic cheating. Catherine sneaks behind her husband’s back to have the affair with Gary, and until she discovers his other affair partners, she seems entirely unremorseful. Likewise, Brett’s ex-wife seems equally unapologetic about her affair and the resulting divorce, which affects their two young children.

And as you might expect, since the primary protagonists are immediately presented as murderers, Grosse Pointe Garden Society features elements of violence, too. Birdie describes the macabre nature with which her fellow accomplices committed the crime, and the series opens as the crew buries their blood-covered victim. Compared to your average murder mystery, though, NBC’s drama significantly tones down its emphasis on these violent elements.

Grosse Pointe Garden Society certainly has its imperfections. So while its creative spin and colorful characters might be your inspiration to dig in, you might get a little dirty doing it.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out. )

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After a psychop killed one of his best friends, Matt dropped his pointed cowl, set aside his billy club and stopped being Daredevil.

“A line was crossed,” he tells someone. “I felt like I lost the privilege. And despite the good that I was doing, I was causing damage.”

Matt still fights the good fight, of course—just not quite as literally. As a lawyer, he defends those he believes to be innocent. He does his own little part to battle New York City corruption. And he still promises to keep an eye on Wilson Fisk … the city’s newly elected mayor.

And Fisk? He, too, has changed. Or so he says.

He’s no longer that brutally cruel criminal mastermind known as Kingpin. “A rich man, by his very nature, is self-serving,” he says. “A mayor serves his city.” And he has promised the voters, and himself, that he’ll serve them the best that he can. He’s done earning blood money. He’s through killing his enemies. And his longtime enmity with Daredevil? Perhaps the two can finally bury the hatchet—somewhere else besides each other’s heads.

“I’m not that man anymore,” Fisk swears to Matt.

But change is hard. Especially if part of you doesn’t really want to change.

The Devil You Know …

The new title sequence for Daredevil: Born Again features a series of crumbling statues, which fits: It’s not long before cracks in the facades of these “changed” men begin to show.

Fisk may want to improve New York. His voters would certainly like to believe so, and they’re all too willing to push aside his blood-red past and put their faith in his no-nonsense, can-do spirit.

But that past has generated its share of skeptics, too—Matt Murdock among them. “Why can I not shake the feeling that you’re trying to game the system?” he tells Fisk. And when those skeptics stand in the way of Fisk’s idea of progress, it’s easy to slip into some bad habits: a threat here, a bribe there, and a little blood just might grease the wheels of progress. Fisk has always been able to get his way, after all. And he’s never been one to worry much about bruised egos … or broken bones.

Matt has his own issues. He’d love to follow the rule of law—which, as a lawyer, he’s determined to make work for his clients. But sometimes those rules can be twisted. The law can be bent. Sometimes, the bad guys wear badges, and the good guys have nowhere to turn—except to an outside-the-law vigilante like Daredevil.

Matt and Fisk believe they’re polar opposites of each other. But they share more than they’d care to admit. And what they share, in Born Again, grows a bit more: Heather Glenn is Matt’s new girlfriend—and Wilson Fisk’s marriage counselor.

Small world.

The Road to Hell’s Kitchen

Around the time that the Avengers were tangling with the AI monstrosity Ultron and Ant-Man was fighting Yellowjacket on a toy train, a different sort of Marvel superhero started stalking the mean streets of Hell’s Kitchen—and the boulevards of Netflix.

Netflix’s Daredevil was grim, gritty and rated TV-MA—the equivalent of an R-rating in the world of movies. Blood was spattered. Curse words were hurled. Was the show good? Aesthetically, yes, and it brought in a welcome element of faith. (Matt Murdock’s Catholicism is a critical part of his character, and a bulwark of his no-kill ethos.) But the three-season story arc was brutal, too, and hardly the stuff that families could watch together.

Netflix closed out the series in 2018, turning the rights over to Disney—the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s corporate overlord. And while Daredevil (played engagingly by Charlie Cox) has showed up in some MCU properties since, Daredevil: Born Again marks his return as a true front-line superhero.

And the show is a return to form—for good and ill.

Born Again feels more like Matt Reeves’ The Batman than the MCU’s Avengers: There are no multiversal or extraterrestrial threats—just a lot of crime, corruption and Kingpin to deal with. The show is aimed at adults who like multilayered storytelling and complex characters.

But it is, of course, more “adult” in other ways, too.

Bad language, including f- and s-words, is strong and pervasive. Despite Matt’s Catholicism (which, in the early episodes, at least, seems a bit downplayed by Disney), the character has no inhibitions about diving into bed with someone else if the opportunity strikes.

And speaking of striking … wow, is this show violent.

Daredevil may not kill. But sometimes he seems to skate by that scruple on a technicality. He’ll break bones, crush skulls and shed an incredible amount of blood in bringing his foes his own painful form of “justice.” And while Wilson Fisk is playing nice in the early going of this series, you just know that’s not going to last. The people who die here might feel like they got off easy.

Matt Murdock may think he’s changed. Wilson Fisk may think he’s changed. But Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again? It feels much the same as its Netflix predecessor—if not a bit bloodier. And for families who trust Disney to give them family friendly fare, that’s hardly a welcome return.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out. )

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That’s the number of confirmed deaths that occurred during what becomes known as Zero Day—the day when, for a single minute, someone managed to hijack and shut off the United States’ computer systems. For one minute, subway cars collided with each other; critical life support turned off; airplanes were left without communications.

And for one minute, everyone’s phone displayed the same haunting message:

This will happen again.

The U.S. government has no leads on who the perpetrators might be. But they’re quick to set up the Zero Day Commission, filled with the best and brightest, to investigate the attack. It’s given powers of surveillance, search and seizure, and “if necessary, even the suspension of habeas corpus.” In other words, the temporary commission is unmatched in its power.

And as both Congress and President Mitchell approve its creation, the question on everyone’s mind is: Who could lead such a thing?

The answer is the former President, George Mullen, liked by most across both parties and able to rally American citizens with moving speeches. And as he accepts the position, he promises to the cameras that they’ll do things by the book and make sure the truth comes to light.

But the political landscape is far different from when George was in office. Even his own daughter worries that it’ll eat him and his patriotic optimism alive. And she’s not so sure that anyone, even the well-liked George, can stay true to his word when given that much power.

And that’s not even mentioning how George may be losing his mind.

Left in the Dark, Look for the Light

Add Zero Day to the growing list of entertainment properties looking to capitalize on America’s divided political sphere. Because at its root, this show dives deep into division.

When Zero Days hits, it’s not long before protestors start throwing out ideas as to who is really responsible: socialists, Russian sympathizers, insurance companies. And, throughout the show, it seems Americans across the political spectrum are all complicit in making a bad situation worse.

And that’s part of the point of Zero Day. No one denies that the attack was devastating. But with no true enemy to blame, it’s not long before people start offering scapegoats—and as all that finger pointing turns to paranoia, it threatens to do more damage to the country than the attack itself ever could.

That’s a fair warning, and it’s a reality George wrestles with in every decision he makes. Because although there’s no doubt that George wants the truth, he’s not so sure that it’s what the country needs. Even if he finds the true perpetrators, down to the name and number, will Americans be ready to accept it and move forward—or will he just be the one granting a whiff of blood to hungry sharks?

While we’re on the topic of blood, viewers should note that there’s a bit of violence here: someone gets tortured, someone is kidnapped and drowned, and a group of people are shot and killed. And as far as other content issues, while we don’t see anything critical, a couple people take off their clothes. And you’re sure to hear a handful of f-words in each episode, too.

On Zero Day, America went dark. It’s George’s job to restore the light—both literally and symbolically. But with those content concerns, you may find that task harder to do than expected.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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Some folks might wish their knees would twinge when Jack Reacher nears their city limits. He’s like a thundercloud: Big, powerful and impossible to miss. And once he’s in town, it’s too late: The storm’s just about to break.

Big Guy, Big Problems

It’s not that Reacher goes looking for trouble; well, not often, anyway. He travels from town to town, stopping in for a piece of pie here, buying an old vinyl record there. He calls himself a hobo, and he lives his life without strings: no family, no real friends, not even a Facebook account.

Weird how trouble always seems to know where he’s heading.

In Season Three of Prime Video’s Reacher (based on Lee Child’s book Persuader), our hulking hero goes undercover to investigate … a rug importer. That’s right, Zachary Beck imports rugs. But that’s not all authorities believe he’s involved in. Might he be smuggling in drugs? Reacher means to find out.

But it won’t be easy. Not only must he live at Beck’s well-armed, heavily guarded compound, he must partner with the DEA. And as a rule, Reacher doesn’t like to partner with strangers. Moreover, Reacher’s after different quarry. Seems that Beck is working with a guy from Reacher’s past—a former military intelligence officer named Quinn. Back in the day, Quinn moonlighted as a spy, selling secrets to the bad guys. And he just happens to be one of the toughest, meanest, bloodiest hombres Reacher knows.

And trust me, Reacher has known plenty.

Reach for the Why

Reacher began his long, bloody career in Lee Child’s 1997 novel Killing Floor. He’s since fronted another 25 books and been the cornerstone of two aptly named movies: Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.

Those movies starred Tom Cruise, who at 5-foot-7 doesn’t quite measure up—literally—to the massive character Child envisioned. The Prime Video show (the first season of which was based on Killing Floor) seeks to correct that, trading out Cruise’s charismatic hero for Alan Ritchson’s glowering, hulking, straight-faced killer.

And it’s not just Reacher who’s bigger these days: The problems are, too.

Cruise’s Jack Reacher films were both rated PG-13. Primes’s reboot, if it were a movie and not a television show, would be rated a hard, bloody R.

People die with some frequency, and often in some really horrific ways. (A Season One victim was stripped naked and nailed to his own wall.) Even those that don’t die suffer nasty, wince-inducing injuries. We see and hear bones snap. Fisticuffs can leave loads of people bloodied and bruised. Knives cut. Bullets fly. If the character Reacher is a harbinger of storm, his clouds don’t come with rain, but blood.

Profanity blows in on the winds of this Amazon storm, too, with the occasional f-word and frequent s-word howling through the speakers. We see nudity and sensuality as well, though our characters rarely have much leisure time.

You have to ask how unlucky Jack Reacher has to be: Trouble seems to follow the guy. And from what I can see, some of that trouble might go straight through the screen.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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And if it’s a shocking, twist-and-turns tragedy that audiences want, Burden of Guilt definitely fits the bill. Through a series of interviews and archival footage, this docuseries tells the story of a woman with a troubled past searching for her brother’s killer.

Tracyraquel Berns was only a toddler when her infant brother, Matthew, was found dead, and Tracy has spent her whole life believing she accidentally threw him from his crib and killed him. But 25 years after Matthew’s death, new information comes to light, and Tracy is left questioning all that she thought she knew. Was it really her fault? Or was there something more nefarious going on?

CRACKING THE COLD CASE

True crime can be a tricky beast to tackle. At its best, it tells stories of victims finding justice and loved ones finding closure. At its worst, the victims are exploited for shock value, and the grief of loved ones is twisted into cheap entertainment. A tragedy that turned a family’s life inside out becomes something to play in the background while you do your laundry.

Burden of Guilt, thankfully, leans toward the better side of true crime. The series is based on a podcast of the same name, about which the creators wrote, “It was our goal to tell [Tracy’s] story for the first time. We wanted people to understand the level of bravery and personal sacrifice it took to expose what really happened.”

Tracy drives the docuseries by telling her own story in her own words. The effects of Matthew’s death are stated as facts rather than overly sensationalized, and the details are relayed with as much taste as possible. No gory images or extensive, shock-inducing descriptions to be found here.

There’s a strong value of life present, too. Despite being only four months old at the time of his death, Matthew is treated with as much respect as any adult. When Tracy resurrects his case after 25 years, detectives and medical examiners waste no time in dedicating their best efforts to finding the truth. It’s almost as touching as it is harrowing when the detectives wrestle with their guilt over digging up Matthew’s grave to perform an autopsy.

Of course, this is the story of the death (and possibly murder) or a four-month-old, and the show’s difficult premise can’t be avoided. Matthew died of severe head trauma after presumably falling out of his crib, and there are some disturbing mental images evoked through descriptions of his death. There’s also discussion of Tracy and her her mother’s traumatic childhoods, which include drug abuse, attempted suicide, teen pregnancy and a forced abortion. Nothing is shown in detail, and Tracy describes these events as matter-of-factly as possible. Still, it’s difficult to talk about a mother abusing and neglecting her child in a way that’s not disconcerting.

There are a huge range of opinions to be had about true crime. Some find it fascinating, while others find it tasteless. Whatever your stance, you can take comfort in knowing that Burden of Guilt steers clear of exploiting its subjects or sensationalizing a tragedy.

Still, the subject matters dealt with here aren’t for everyone. Prepare for some dark discussions if you choose to reopen this cold case.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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That’s what Belle Gibson tells her thousands of followers on social media. It’s what she tells her publisher, manager, friends and even her partner, Clive Rothwell.

It’s how Belle builds her brand, The Whole Pantry. She alleges that by eating a very curated list of natural foods and practicing alternative medicine, she has cured her cancer.

Belle is lying.

Apple Cider Miracles

Of course, Belle isn’t the first one. Then again, Milla Blake, Belle’s inspiration and chief competitor, isn’t so much a liar as she is just woefully gullible.

When Milla receives her very real cancer diagnosis, it’s contained to her arm. Her doctors say her best chance of survival is to amputate the diseased limb. But Milla is unwilling to accept that prognosis. Understandably, she wants to keep her arm and beat cancer.

So Milla goes to a specialized naturopathy clinic in Mexico. There, she drinks nothing but fresh-squeezed juice and undergoes five coffee enemas per day. Miraculously and inexplicably, Milla starts feeling better. Her cancer goes into remission. And she truly believes she has beaten cancer her way.

Milla writes about her journey on her blog. She’s able to turn that blog into a book deal. And soon, thousands of people are following Milla on social media.

That’s how Belle finds her and gets the idea to begin practicing natural medicine herself.

But unlike Milla, Belle isn’t sick. And she hasn’t found a way to treat cancer either. (For that matter, neither has Milla. Her preferred treatment fails to save somebody close to her, and later, Milla’s own cancer returns.) However, Milla isn’t intentionally leading people astray. She’s just the blind leading the blind.

No, Belle is simply a narcissist looking for a way to get attention and get rich. And if that means she needs to fake a few seizures along the way, so be it.

Coffee Enemas and Fake Seizures

Apple Cider Vinegar isn’t the story of a young woman who tells a lie that gets out of control. Belle knows what she’s doing from the get-go. Every time someone catches her in a lie, she just tells another one, manipulating emotions until she gets the response she wants. She has countless opportunities to come clean.

She just doesn’t want to.

No, this show—which, though inspired by a true story, can’t technically be corroborated since the real Belle Gibson wasn’t paid for this recreation—is a cautionary tale of what happens when you have the hubris to believe nobody will expose you for what you are.

Unfortunately, it also comes with a few cautions for viewers, too.

Sadly, we see the effects of cancer on a multitude of patients. Some undergo traditional medical treatments, such as surgery, chemo and radiation. Others try more homeopathic remedies. And a few even resort to witch doctors and psychedelic drugs. We hear quite a bit of debate about which method is better. But it becomes tragically clear that neither Belle nor even Milla should be offering medical advice, since neither is a medical professional.

It’s also worth noting that a woman miscarries at 23 weeks of pregnancy. She is induced and gives birth to a stillborn daughter. And this life event traumatizes her and her child’s father.

Language is another big concern here, with multiple uses of the f-word each episode. We see quite a bit of skin in both sexual and nonsexual situations, and many characters having sex are unwed. In one scene, a doctor’s gloved hand covers a woman’s breast as she’s prepped for a mastectomy. Couples, including one same-sex couple, kiss and make out. Female characters frequently wear revealing outfits. Alcohol use can be found in most episodes, and a few also depict the use of cocaine.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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His name is Peter Parker. He was bitten by a radioactive spider. And for the last few months, he’s been the one and only Spider-Man.

The elements are the same. The details, however, are where you’ll see that things are very much different.

Because in this timeline, Peter Parker never got to attend Midtown High; that school got shut down following damage from a fight between Doctor Strange and an alien symbiote.

Because of that, Peter Parker never met MJ or Ned or any of the other characters in the Tom Holland Spidey universe. And that’s why he swung a different direction to get to school. That’s how he ended up saving Harry Osborn from a group of muggers.

So, when he returns home, it’s not Mr. Tony Stark whom he finds chatting with his Aunt May in the living room; it’s Norman Osborn, looking to offer Peter an internship at Oscorp Industries.

Yes, that’s quite different from the stories we know. But for all those differences, you can still count on one thing: Peter Parker is still your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Not Everything Sticks

Sure, Captain America “can do this all day,” but it’s Spider-Man who doesn’t have an issue returning to the limelight, over and over.

Since 2000, the character’s gotten 10 feature-length films and six shows as the main character. And with more in development, the web-slinging teenage vigilante shows no signs of slowing down.

Enter his seventh show since 2000, the animated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which places Peter under the mentorship of the villain Norman Osborn. And fans of Marvel will likewise immediately recognize the names of other heroes and villains who appear in the show, such as Nico Minoru, Lonnie Lincoln and Jeanne Foucault. In fact, the roster of comic characters in this show provides Spider-Man with a hefty number of potential opponents he’ll eventually have to fight.

It’s no problem for Spider-Man, since he’ll swing a fist just as easily as he’ll swing on a web. And if you’re interested in watching a Spider-Man entry, you probably expect to see some violence (PG, this time). But in case you aren’t up to date on some of the other characters, Peter’s newest best friend, Nico Minoru, is openly bisexual. And should she follow the route of the comics, we’ll see her soon develop into a powerful sorceress.

Lastly, despite the PG rating, viewers should note that light language is used, including “h—,” “a–” and misuses of God’s name.

And because of those things, not everything in this show will be as friendly as a neighborhood Spider-Man.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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So says Taylah Sanders, a young employee for the National Security Agency tasked with monitoring those math nerds. And they live some surprisingly interesting lives.

Take Edward Brooks, a brilliant mathematics graduate student at Cambridge. How do we know he’s brilliant? Someone mentions it at least every 15 minutes or so. But his brilliance has led him into some dangerous waters: the world of prime numbers.

That’s right: 1, 3, 5, 7, 11 … No, no. Best look away now. Before you, too, are chased by murder-minded terrorists.

What—You’re Still Reading? Well, Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You

Edward does think himself rather clever. Studying at Cambridge University—yes, that Cambridge, where Sir Isaac Newton set the mathematics world in new motion—Edward believes that the study of math has some grand new discoveries lurking in the shadow of well-known numbers and trig signs. “(New) numbers are out there, just waiting to be found, like vast, hidden continents.”

He believes that people have not looked into the mysteries of prime numbers nearly enough. Even though the world is built around numbers neatly divisible, nature leans into the primes. And those prime numbers, Edward believes, may be the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe itself.

“What if God’s cipher here on earth—the DNA of existence—is actually prime numbers?” he asks his mentor, Professor Mallinder.

Mallinder knows that his brilliant (everyone says so) student is onto something. He knows because another brilliant student of his was on the same path 30 years before. Oh, and hey, she mysteriously died. Forces untold aren’t so much interested in prime numbers as “God’s cypher,” but rather a key to unlock every computer encryption known to man.

You wouldn’t want something like that falling into the wrong hands, would you?

Taylah—she of the NSA—knows someone is after Edward’s prime-number theories. Why? Because Professor Mallinder also died mysteriously just a few days ago. And when Taylah brought it up to her boss, that boss was promptly gunned down.

So now, Taylah takes it upon herself to save Edward and whatever secret knowledge he has rattling around in his head … before both he and she meet unfortunate fates of their own.

Prime-al Leer

Prime Target feels like an Apple TV+ misfire.

Certainly, we see plenty of plot holes that seem out of place in a show predicated on advanced mathematics. And both Edward and Taylah—despite being nicely telegenic and all—are rather unappealing as characters.

But Prime Target comes with other issues, as well.

Edward’s true love may be math, but he’s not above a physical tryst or two. He falls into a casual relationship with a (seemingly) clueless male bartender in the first episode—one that swiftly lands them both in bed. But he may not be that particular about who he sleeps with: When the bartender asks if Edward’s parents know he’s gay, Edward tells him “I’m not anything.” Which suggests that if the bartender had been a woman, Edward might’ve just happily bedded her, too.

The show labels itself a thriller, so we shouldn’t be surprised that bodies are beginning to pile up like snow in North Dakota. And while Prime Target seems to try to keep things to a PG-13 level, some of the deaths we see can feel R-rated bloody.

Foul language, while not ubiquitous, can still be harsh when we hear it. S-words and an occasional f-word speckle the dialogue, with some more mild profanities folded in.

Give Apple TV+ credit: It’s not every streaming service that would give its viewers a thriller predicated on “math nerds.” But Prime Target serves up some Prime problems. And, as we know, those sorts of negatives rarely add up to be positive.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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You’re expected to keep the peace while also keeping your uniform clean. You have to stop the bad guys from harming others without harming them yourself. Be polite and nonconfrontational as you render aid even as those you’re helping scream in your face and call you names.

And unfortunately, that doesn’t necessarily end when you clock out at the end of your shift. Because when you’re a cop in an understaffed city like Long Beach, California, you’re always on call.

Officer Harmon knows this all too well. So she doesn’t count on anyone noticing if she or her fellow officers volunteer for extra shifts. She doesn’t anticipate a “thank you” from the public for protecting them.

But she does expect her precinct to trust her—and to have her back as she tracks down the guys who shot her former trainee, Maria Delgado—instead of whispering behind her back to her new rookie, Alex Diaz, about how she got a bunch of people fired last year.

Whether that’s true or whether someone is just sowing seeds of dissent within the department remains to be seen. But in the meantime, Harmon is going to keep doing her job. She’ll train Diaz. She’ll find Delgado’s murderer. And Harmon will keep serving and protecting the people of Long Beach—and all while keeping her shoes and belt nice and shiny.

Seeds of Dissent

Prime Video’s On Call, ironically, should probably come with a trigger warning for fans of typical police procedural. Why? Because despite some marketing that suggests otherwise, this show is anything but.

Violence is prevalent and graphic. Delgado is murdered onscreen (shot in the neck) during a routine traffic stop, an encounter that escalated when she realized the driver was attempting to traffic a minor. Traditional camera shots are juxtaposed with footage from Delgado’s bodycam and the cell phone recordings of bystanders. Instead of trying to help Delgado or even calling for help, they watch her bleed out in the street.

A mob attacks several officers and eventually destroys a local business. A rookie officer gets stabbed in the neck with a heroin needle, and he begins to foam at the mouth. Diaz saves his life by administering emergency naloxone. But the experience shakes him to his core, especially since they weren’t even after the guy who attacked them.

Officers are forced to take lives, too. Although Harmon always aims for a nonlethal approach (she’s never fired her weapon in 12 years on the force), that’s not always an option. And the first thing she drives into Diaz’s head is that he should always know his location, since you never know when you or someone else will need an ambulance.

Language is foul, with dozens of f-bombs per episode. Nudity and LGBT content sneak into the show as well. And viewers should also be aware of an anti-police element as well.

On Call shines a sympathetic light on Harmon and other officers. These brave men and women are trying to protect the public while being hindered by procedures and bureaucracy at every step. But even when they play it by the book, the department could still get sued for not doing enough. And, of course, there are some cops who get sick of all that and go off-book—sometimes in the hope of making progress, sometimes for personal gain.

More than anything, it seems On Call is trying to demonstrate that the work of police officers isn’t always black and white. There are many nuances to the job. And even when you do your best, it might not be enough. Someone could still get hurt—emotionally or physically.

And even though I’m sure what’s depicted here is reminiscent of what real police officers have witnessed on the job, I’m not sure the show’s message is strong enough to justify depicting it onscreen. Because while cops have been conditioned to this sort of violence (and have access to mental health professionals who can help them process it), viewers haven’t been. So rather than help us empathize with the boys (and girls) in blue, it just feels like another excuse to desensitize us to the horrors of this world.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

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You see, five years ago, Taro Sakamoto was the world’s premier hitman, revered by others in his craft and feared by all evil men. But then he fell in love with a convenience store clerk, Aoi, and the two got married and had a child. She told him that they could only be together if he promised to stop killing people—and for five years, he’s held true to his word.

But the Boss doesn’t care about a love story. No hitman can just walk out of the business without his say-so. That’s why, after searching for Taro for years, the Boss demands that Shin slay the man.

And as Shin looks on the former hitman, he can’t help but think the job will be simple. Taro gave up the criminal underworld to run a family convenience store … and with all the noodles and sitting around at the cash register, he’s grown fat.

But as the bullet fires from Shin’s gun, a piece of candy fires from Taro’s mouth, deflecting the bullet. A few moments later, and Shin is unconscious. He wakes to a warm meal and friendly smiles. Touched by the kind experience, Shin abandons the Boss and starts working in the convenience store, too.

That’s one threat down. But now that Taro’s location is known, there are plenty of others who’d like to take down the once-famous hitman, too.

And they’ll take whatever chance they can get.

Silent Killer

Mix legendary fictional hitman John Wick with a scene from Spy x Family, and you’ve got Sakamoto Days, the story of a hitman-turned-fatherly convenience store clerk whose peaceful life is continuously threatened by adversaries from his former occupation.

But make no mistake: though Sakamoto Days is a comedy, it’s likewise filled with all the action and violence that comprise your standard John Wick film. Taro’s enemies fall by the dozens, shot, stabbed and strangled. And though watching Taro catch a bullet with chopsticks may be a cool scene, it means there are only moments before that adversary meets a blood-soaked end.

If the animated violence doesn’t get you, the language might, since in the first episode alone, we hear an f-word and four s-words. Oh, and as a sidenote: Shin can read minds, so do with that what you will.

Sakamoto Days looks as if it may come with some sweet moments and messages that, for once, praise the peaceful life of a family man above the blood-covered action hero. But Taro’s circumstances often require that action hero to emerge, leaving those sweet moments tasting a little metallic.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

The post Sakamoto Days appeared first on Plugged In.