“The Bridge,” FX’s dark, politically tinged crime thriller set on the U.S.-Mexico border, returns for season 2 on July 9.
The drama, adapted from a Danish TV series, was instantly compelling in its first season, thanks largely to the acting talents of Demian Bichir, who plays Marco Ruiz, the Juarez-based cop.
Now, the darkness seems unrelenting. As the forces of organized crime are insurmountable, the immigration dilemma is intractable, and U.S. government bureaucrats meddle, this may be one drama that is too despairing for its own good.
Lately, TV dramas have reveled in the depths, depicted the bloodiest criminal acts, exposed the underside of humanity and delivered some fine performances along the way. “Rectify,” “Top of the Lake,” “The Returned” and “Tyrant” have sometimes conflated darkness with profundity. Even on broadcast TV, what could be darker than “Hannibal”? But tragedy doesn’t always equal good drama. With so much dark, darker, darkest “entertainment” out there, viewers must determine how much, in what doses, we can take. The second season of “The Bridge” may be the cut-off point. Online: Read more Joanne Ostrow
