Peacock is the home of Natasha Lyonne portraying a fictional and accidental detective in Poker Face, but NBCUniversal’s streaming service also tackles true crime, and soon, Peacock, will head into thriller mode with a series that isn’t exactly true crime but sure could be a true story. Let’s not waste any more time and head into the abyss of Long Bright River and what to expect.
Plot
Lone Bright River is based upon the same-named book by Liz Moore and follows the perspective of Mickey (Amanda Seyfried). As a Philly cop, she patrols the Kensington neighborhood (where she grew up), which has been devastated by the opioid crisis, and (of course) a multi-murder case ends up hitting too close to home. This will presumably be a limited series, although you know what happens when limited series are too successful, right? We’ll see if this ends up following the path of, say, Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent, but officially, we can expect eight episodes from the Seyfried-starring series.
Executive producer Nikki Toscano (Hunters, The Offer) explained in a press release how she gobbled up Moore’s “novel in one sitting,” and she describes this “breathtakingly beautiful story” as being “as compelling in its family drama as it was in its murder mystery.” As with the book, Toscano took the challenge of hopping back and forth between past and present to fully flesh out Mickey’s connection to this case, and Toscano was thrilled to adapt “this moving love story between two sisters.”
Also importantly, Toscano aimed to make this story “deconstruct the ‘police as savior’ narrative,” and she made it a goal “to upend stereotypes: of those born into poverty and addiction, of those engaging in sex work, of those who have been written off or marginalized after they’ve seemingly fallen through the cracks of their community, and finally, of those engaged in police work.”
Further, Toscano warns, “Strap yourself in – ’cause this is Amanda like you’ve never seen her before – flawed and raw, tarred by guilt and shame and legacy, but never more compelling. She puts every ounce of her soul onto the screen and her performance will break your heart.”
Moore chimed into the press release while explaining that her inspiration for the Long Bright River novel didn’t come from a single source but includes her experiences in Kensington along with “my own family’s history of addiction,” by “being a sister,” and “living in the city of Philadelphia.” And if this series is half as successful as the book, Moore’s portrait of Kensington will be the source of much bingewatching.
Cast
In addition to Seyfried, Long Bright River stars Nicholas Pinnock, Ashleigh Cummings, John Doman, Callum Vinson, Britne Oldford, Matthew Del Negro, Dash Mihok, Harriet Sansom Harris, Perry Mattfeld, and Patch Darragh.
Release Date
Long Bright River debuts on March 13.
Trailer
This looks like the Internet’s next crime drama addiction.
