Will Forte revisits “true crime” in Ireland: what is Bodkin worth? [critique]

Rainy Ireland, a rural investigation, a true crime podcast and Will Forte as a tourist. All the ingredients for a good little Guinness-flavored detective series, to watch on Netflix.

We didn’t realize it, but in fact, Will Forte we missed it. Since the end of The Last Man on Earth (2015-2018), the American actor had somewhat disappeared from the radar, despite the phenomenon MacGruber (which, let’s be honest, hasn’t really crossed the Atlantic). So we find him with unfeigned pleasure in his Irish wanderings, on the trail of a mysterious killer, in Bodkina crime drama for Netflix, bucolic and caustic, with very pronounced Irish accents.

Will Forte plays an Uncle Sam loser podcaster who arrives on the British island to record a show in the countryside of Bodkin, sinisterly known for three unexplained disappearances, on the day of the traditional Samhain carnival, ancestor of Halloween. Supported by a journalist from the very serious Guardian and a young assistant, he will lead the investigation to unearth the hidden secrets of the peaceful town.

From interviews to confessions, the Guinness flows freely and the green landscapes pass by like a postcard of all that Ireland has to offer (the series was filmed in the Cork countryside). An invigorating setting for an investigation which nevertheless remains quite ordinary in substance. The mysteries of Samhain are not very exciting and it is the local atmosphere, with its gallery of Gaelic faces, which keeps us hooked on the bar of the pub. Mixed with a gentle black humor, Bodkin plays with “true crime” by taking a real saving distance, masterfully embodied by this dear Will Fortewho has definitely lost none of his comic timing.

Bodkin, in 7 episodes, to watch on Netflix since May 9, 2024.