People keep recommending crime shows to me
People keep recommending crime shows to me. And I'm like, Please, I'm begging you, no more crimes and murders. I can't take it.
My mum tried to pitch me a series with Sean Bean. As a mob boss or something. Her plan of attack was to tell me Julie Graham is in it. This is a solid plan.
But what she actually said was, "The neighbour from At Home with the Braithwaites is in it. You know, Bletchley. She plays his wife. Well, she's not in it much, but she's very good."
Error! Not interested! Get back to me when Julie Graham is the mob boss and then we'll see.
I say all this like some of my favourite TV shows of all time aren't crime shows (aforementioned Bletchley Circle, Scott and Bailey). But this was before there was so much crimes and murders. Before so much true crime. Saturated with crimes and murders now.
Over the years Netflix has recommended me things based on my enjoying Bletchley or Scott and Bailey: Foyles War. Grantchester. Midsomer Murders. Fundamentally misunderstanding what I like about these women-led shows.
(The worst rec I ever got was when my brother told me I should watch Breaking Bad. We go back a long way, my brother and I. So disappointed in him honestly.)
It's not entertaining to me. I don't want to be entertained by this. Everything doesn't have to be wall-to-wall gritty and grimdark. Gritty doesn't have to mean crimes and murders.
The police are the baddies. The system is inherently bad. (Line of Duty is absolutely not the answer to this. That show boils my piss.) If I wanted a conspiracy it wouldn't be about the earth being flat it would be that for every headline about how awful the police are there's a tv studio forced to put out a new copaganda show.
I can't even watch a rare non-crime show without all the adverts (that I pay to get rid of... but trailers don't count apparently) being for crimes and murders.
There's absolutely bigger sociological and psychological reasons for this boom, I know that. But I'm too dumb, and frankly too tired, to think about it properly.
Just, please, a break.