Mare of Easttown: HBO Returns to the Realism That Built The Network
It’s always nice when a new series that’s rooted in the realism of everyday life gets the greenlight from a big budget network like HBO. It makes sense as shows like The Sopranos and The Wire took the network to the next level. Mare of Easttown starring academy award winner Kate Winslet as Detective Mare Sheehan is a quintessential example of this. Based in the blue collar suburbs of southeastern Pennsylvania, Winslet plays a divorced middle-aged woman policing the town that she grew up in. She definitely spent a lot of time working on her Delco accent to make sure it didn’t feel forced and over the top. There are a few key moments that will be noticeable to anybody that’s familiar with it. Creator Brad Ingelsby was raised in the area, so there’s a good chance that a strong thread of authenticity will run through the entire series.
A good portion of television shows and films have been designated to fantasy and nonsensical fiction nowadays. And sure, that’s cool for cheap thrills and big bang entertainment. Television shows that are built off slow but heavy drama may come off as boring to a certain demographic. Some kids grow up and want to watch superhero movies to relive their childhood, and production companies generate massive profits off of it. I get it - there’s nothing wrong with it, but that isn’t the case for everybody.
Some people crave rawness that’s relatable. For these people, the mundane existence of the common man and woman is easily absorbed into their subconscious and surprisingly fascinating. The darkness of tragedies in tight-knit communities, the hopelessness of addiction and alcoholism, deep-rooted friendship that lasts decades, the frightening mystery of missing persons, the subtle romanticism that occurs between ordinary people, the struggle of hardworking lower middle class families that just want to make it through another week – when all of this is written into scripts with an eloquent sharpness that is soulful and riveting, it stands out amongst the bright lights and big explosions.
This new limited series has all of those things, and although the first episode was only just released, it shows all the signs of being very promising. Not only is Kate Winslet entrenched in this role, the filmmakers introduced all the characters in a way that was natural while slowly unwinding the storyline. It has all the elements of a film like Mystic River – interpret that as you will. If you haven’t watched Mare of Easttown yet, pencil it into your schedule. I may be jumping the gun as tt’s only just begun, but I’m going to go with my gut on this one.
