'Mare of Easttown' is a crime drama that feels like a family feud

The sheer number of television shows that can be described as "curmudgeonly detective solves a dead girl case while their personal/romantic life falls apart" is beyond counting at this point, but the trope is common for a reason. When done well, it makes for really good TV. The newest entry into the pantheon of TV cops with dead townies and big problems is Kate Winslet's Mare Sheehan, the titular character of HBO's Mare of Easttown. And yes, it's one of the really good ones.

Mare of Easttown takes place in a grubby small-town Pennsylvania nowhere, the kind of place where everyone is kind of related or at least knows everyone else's business. Within the first few minutes of the show, it becomes clear that Mare is more than a detective in Easttown's police force — she's a trusted figure who grew up alongside anyone she may have to apprehend. Mare's home life is complicated by living with her sardonic mother Helen (Jean Smart), being a divorcee whose ex lives right next door, a mother to queer teen Siobhan (Angourie Rice), and a grandmother to a four-year-old boy born of Mare's late son and his drug addicted girlfriend. Read more...

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