In yet another “gone too soon” post, “The Following” was a great show that I think just got lost in the sea of TV shows now available.
Honestly, there are SO MANY great shows on – too many to keep up with really – and “The Following” had great writing, an awesome cast helmed by Kevin Bacon, and by season three the writers weren’t asking us to take such huge leaps of faith – something Connie Wang mentioned after season one.
The writing improved in the next two seasons, but the ratings dropped and we all know what means. People just weren’t following “The Following.”
But if you stuck with the show through season three, the third and final season is now on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital (I received a Blu-ray + Digital copy to review).
The story picks up after rogue ex-FBI agent Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) finally captured his nemesis Joe Carroll (James Purefoy). With Carroll locked up on Death Row and Hardy back with the FBI – and in a stable relationship with an ER doctor (Zuleikha Robinson) – new threats emerge that have Hardy, Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore) and Hardy’s newly agented niece Max (Jessica Stroup) on edge and off balance.
Unlike the known threat of Joe Carroll, each new danger is potentially more lethal because the FBI isn’t exactly sure where it’s coming from. But with psycho twin Mark Gray (Sam Underwood) still at large, Joe Carroll still haunting Ryan from behind bars, Carroll’s murderous mentor Dr. Arthur Strauss (Gregg Henry) in the background, and a new, meticulous chameleon-like killer (Michael Ealy) circling, Hardy soon realizes that Joe Carroll was only the beginning.
I really enjoyed the third season. The show was edgy, but not so gruesome that I couldn’t watch it (can’t say the same for “Hannibal,” which was so gory that I just couldn’t stomach it). But I love crime shows, so “The Following” was a good mix of thrills with not-so-much gore.
The problem is that as viewers, it’s hard to get invested in a show that could be dropped with the first sign of failing ratings. But without viewers, there will be no good ratings. It’s a real conundrum.
Check out “The Following” now that all three seasons are available. If you like crime TV, you’ll be glad you did.
Special Features include:
- When Heroes Lie
- Evil Has Many Faces
- Ryan and Romance
- The Art of the Crime Scene
- The Following: Funny AND Die
- Severed Scenes
- Gag Reel
- 2014 New York Comic-Con Panel
Season 3 Episode List:
- New Blood
- Boxed In
- Exposed
- Home
- A Hostile Witness
- Reunion
- The Hunt
- Flesh & Blood
- Kill the Messenger
- Evermore
- Demons
- The Edge
- A Simple Trade
- Dead or Alive
- The Reckoning
Leave a Reply