This evening, TF1 is broadcasting the first episodes of Will Trent, an American detective series hosted by Ramón Rodríguez. Is it worth a look?
What is it about ?
Special Agent Will Trent was abandoned at birth and had a difficult childhood in the Atlanta foster care system. Now he’s determined to make sure no one feels as abandoned as he does…
Will Trent, from Wednesday May 15 on TF1 and streaming on TF1+.
Who is it with?
Will Trent is an American television series created by Liz Heldens and Daniel Thomsen.
To bring this GBI special agent to life, the production called on Ramón Rodríguez. At her side, viewers will find Erika Christensen, Iantha Richardson, Jake McLaughlin and Sonja Sohn, who respectively lend their features to Angie Polaski, Faith Mitchell, Michael Ormewood and Amanda Wagner.
It’s worth checking out ?
Based on the literary saga of Karin Slaughter, the TF1 detective story follows the adventures of Will Trenta special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Abandoned at birth, the latter grew up in the Atlanta foster system. A childhood marked by deep traumas that push him to want no one to feel as abandoned as he does.
Hated by his peers for exposing corruption within the police, Will Trent is nonetheless the special agent with the highest clearance rate in the GBI. And for good reason, the latter is capable of solving the most complex cases thanks to a methodical analysis of crime scenes.
The launch of season 1 in the United States was successful: 3.61 million viewers for the broadcast of the first episode on ABC. And around 18 million all platforms combined for the same episode during the first 5 weeks. The audiences being promising, ABC quickly ordered a season 2 (broadcasting will end on May 21 on the channel). And a season 3 has been in the works since last month.
If the series does not revolutionize the detective genre – Will Trent is a classic procedural – it does stand out thanks to its gallery of characters. Here, the heroes are damaged and drag with them heavy suitcases from the past. As the season progresses, the series juggles police investigations and the development of the personal stories of its characters.
As such, we quickly become attached to Will, a dyslexic man whose body bears the scars of a brutal past which did not spare him. From then on, we follow the episodes, not really for the investigations but above all to discover the story of this endearing hero and those who gravitate around him.
On the acting side, Ramón Rodríguez is simply perfect in Trent’s well-dressed costume. The actor manages to subtly balance humor and emotion to make his character as human as he is endearing, and encourage us to follow his adventures.
In addition to impeccable acting, the series benefits from careful, colorful and dynamic production as well as a catchy soundtrack and dialogue tinged with humor.
Despite these strong points, the series unfortunately suffers from lengths inherent to a genre that we know only too well. The investigations are often predictable and many twists and turns concerning the heroes are expected. Enough to spoil the fun somewhat.
In short, Will Trent is an unpretentious series that stands out for its characters. In the absence of originality in a television landscape saturated by detective series, it is entertaining. A series which should therefore please fans of the genre.
