There’s something about “The Killing” that grabbed me like no other show in recent years. Maybe with the exception of “Breaking Bad,” which I binge-watched through the first five-and-a-half seasons. It was like I was doing meth or something.
But “The Killing”? It’s hard to put into words what I love about this series. If pressed, I’d say the chemistry — or maybe anti-chemistry — of the two leads, Mireille Enos, who plays the desperately quiet Sarah Linden, and Joel Kinnaman, who plays the deceivingly loopy Stephen Holder.
They’re both hot messes. And if you see them outside of the show, it’s like your mind can’t process that they aren’t their characters on “The Killing.” They’re inexplicably tied to those characters.
Overall, the vibe of “The Killing” is dark and gloomy. Linden and Holder’s lives are gloomy. The city of Seattle is gloomy. And certainly the families left behind by whatever person was murdered are gloomy. It’s just … gloomy. But in a deep and introspective way. I think Tom Waits would call this show a celebration of the gloomy. I have yet to watch the original Danish version of the show, but it’s at the top of my list.
Season three drops on June 2 with a 2-hour premiere, but it’s been a long time coming. Here’s how it all went down…
On July 27, 2012, AMC announced that the show would not be renewed for a third season, but Fox said they were shopping the show around to other networks, thus giving fans like me hope.
By August, Fox revealed that they were in talks with both DirecTV and Netflix to revive the series, and in November, Fox confirmed that they were in final negotiations with Netflix for a third season, including AMC (who, don’t forget, originally canceled the show) as part of the deal.
The deal would allow AMC to air new episodes before they’re hosted by Netflix, in return for sharing any associated production costs with Netflix. On November 30, Variety reported that the show would be returning to AMC in the spring of 2013, with series developer Veena Sud returning as showrunner, and executive producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin returning as writers.
On December 12, it was confirmed that cast members Billy Campbell, Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season.
On January 15, 2013, AMC and Fox announced that “The Killing” had been renewed for a 12-episode third season. Production started on February 25 in Vancouver, Canada, with a premiere date set for June 2. The Netflix deal ensures that they’ll be the exclusive subscription service for season three. Netflix UK and Ireland will air episodes within one week of the U.S., and Netflix U.S. will stream the season about three months after the finale.
Season three picks up one year after the conclusion of the Rosie Larsen case, chronicled in the first two seasons. Remember that after that case ended, Sarah Linden was done, just done with the whole detective business. But season three reels her, along with Stephen Holder, back into the investigation of a runaway girl.
In fact, it’s a string of murders that connects to a previous murder case Linden worked on. That should be interesting; I wonder if it’ll tie back to her rocky and dysfunctional childhood.
Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman are basically the only two characters to return from the previous two seasons, although Liam James will return as Jack Linden in some capacity.
Joining the cast are Peter Sarsgaard as Tom Seward, an inmate in death row for the murder of his wife; Amy Seimetz as Danette Lutz, a single mother of a missing girl; Elias Koteas as Ed Skinner, Linden’s former partner; Hugh Dillon as Becker, a death row inmate who goes head to head with Tom; Bex Taylor-Klaus as Bullet, a tough guy who turns out to be a girl; Johnny Ray Gill as Alton Singleterry, a gangbanger inmate in death row; and Max Fowler as Twitch, a streetwise teenage boy.
New additions to the recurring cast include Aaron Douglas as Gabe, a death row prison guard; Gregg Henry as Carl Reddick, Holder’s seasoned new partner; Andrew Jenkins as Cody, Sarah’s co-worker from the ferry; and Benjamin Charles Watson as Rayna, a transgender teen.
The storyline of a serial killer, along with the prison setting and continued gloominess of Linden and Holder are looking pretty good for this season.
Take a look at a few videos, and leave comments below. Are you a fan of “The Killing”? What are your thoughts on the upcoming season 3?
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