This was supposed to be a review of “Those Who Kill,” a new show airing March 3 on A&E starring Chloe Sevigny. But honestly, the show isn’t remarkable, or even good enough to watch casually. I don’t have much to say. I drifted off the first time I watched it, started doing dishes, and realized I had no idea what was going on. When I forced myself to watch it a second time, I realized that the show was just confusing, more than a little sadistic, and frustratingly ordinary.
On that last point: What I want to talk about is what Grantland’s television critic Andy Greenwaldcalls“American television’s endless fascination with the tormented psyche of white men and/or serial killers.” We all know the shows, some better than others — “True Detective,” “The Killing,” “The Bridge,” “Dexter,” just off the top of my head as I type this. According to a Hollywood Reporter piece from last summer, 2013 saw a 35 percent increase in shows about serial killers. Why are we so interested in watching people kill other people on television?
The most disturbing part of this trend is that the violence in these shows is often against women. In its first episode, “Those Who Kill” features a serial killer who kidnaps women, brings them to an abandoned warehouse, and locks them in a box while torturing them. It’s difficult to watch. Recently, I attempted to sit down and watch “The Fall,” a BBC show that is now available on Netflix. I couldn’t get through more than two episodes because of its extreme focus on the gruesomeness of its serial killer. There’s an argument to be made that what viewers are interested in is seeing the killers brought to justice — the investigation — but the way each of these series attempts to up the ante on televisual sadism often results in shock value alone. The only way you can tell the shows apart is by how violent their serial killer is.
I’m not advocating for more prudish television. I’m just asking for less serial killers. Making the investigator a woman (“The Fall,” “Those Who Kill”), or moving away from the “tormented psyche of white men” (“Luther”), is not enough when the rest of the show is straight from the serial killer mold. If you’re looking for a procedural, go watch “Law & Order.” You can spend days, even weeks, lost in the world of that show(s), which smartly designates the violence, for the most part, to the first few minutes. If you like cops on television, go watch “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which is not violent or offensive, unless you count the occasional moments of corniness. The rest of the time it’s a funny and intelligent take on a familiar genre. All these serial killer shows should learn a lesson.
