BWW Preview: GRACEPOINT Will Keep You Guessing

Fox would like to welcome you to Gracepoint, a picturesque village nestled along the northern California coast. Life in this neighborhood is about as average as it gets - all of the residents know each other, and aside from summer tourist action, nothing very out of the ordinary happens here. That is until the murder of a young boy named Danny Solano.

The tragedy rocks the town and shatters any illusion of perfection that had been in tact long before the murder. Detective Emmett Carver, newly transferred to Gracepoint after a mysterious incident at his old job, immediately takes control of the scene, aided by Detective Ellie Miller, a life-long resident of Gracepoint who was promised the position now filled by Carver.

And so the guessing begins. Paranoia quickly creeps into the minds of everyone in town. Every member of the community who knew Danny, from old friends and teachers to the local priest, becomes a suspect, regardless of their background or community standing. Even Danny's family begins to fracture. Danny's mother, Beth, can't help but wonder if her husband had a hand in her son's death, and her daughter, Chloe, constantly runs out to be with her boyfriend. Even the police investigators are at odds with each other. Detective Carver has trouble striking a balance being the between strict, no-frills detective in charge and being everybody's new best friend, all while attempting to thoroughly investigate Danny's murder. As if investigating a homicide wasn't difficult enough, as the new high-ranking member of the police force, Carver must establish trust within his unit, and the community as a whole. Detective Miller faces her fair share of struggles as well: her son was good friends with Danny, and was one of the last people to see him alive. On top of that, she is forced to put her resentment aside and work alongside the man whose job was supposed to be hers.

To make matters worse, news - especially gossip about a young boy's murder - travels quickly in this close-knit community, thanks in part to a local newspaper, whose main reporter is Detective Miller's nephew. To add potential scandal to the mix, the woman in charge of the paper has a history with Detective Carver. As more and more confidential information about the case gets leaked by the paper, fingers point in all directions and it becomes unclear as to where true allegiances lie.

A host of other suspects - including a local hotel manager and the owner of Gracepoint's kayak service - appear as the investigation deepens, and soon, nobody is quite sure who to trust.

The format of the new version of the mini-series, the anthology series, encourages viewers to create their own theories and play detective alongside Carver and Miller, which makes everyone feel directly involved with solving Danny's murder. And because GRACEPOINT is slated right now as a mini-series, we know that the whodunnit mystery will be solved by series end.

If you're reading this, scratching your head wondering why the plot and characters all seem a bit familiar, it's because Fox's newest drama is based off of the hit British television series BROADCHURCH. Fans of the British show, like myself, may be concerned that they'll know the answers to all of the questions that arise in GRACEPOINT before the series even premieres, but there seem to be enough differences between the two programs to keep BROADCHURCH viewers guessing as much as any new viewer. For one, BROADCHURCH ran for eight episodes, whereas GRACEPOINT is ten episodes long. Two episodes may not seem like a huge disparity, but when it comes to diving into characters' backgrounds and exploring relationships, two extra episodes can indeed make a big difference. Also, the shows' settings - west coast America vs. coastal southern England - allow for events and characters to be nuanced in fundamentally different ways.

Still have some reservations about GRACEPOINT? Not quite sold on plot and plot alone? Let's take a peek at the cast, then. The team is lead by everyone's favorite Doctor, the incredible David Tennant (DOCTOR WHO), making his long-overdue American television debut as Detective Carver. (Tennant also played the same character on BROADCHURCH, which is another reason as to why many fans have expressed concern about the two shows being too similar.) Starring alongside Tennant is Anna Gunn, of BREAKING BAD fame, and suddenly I'm having flashbacks to my love/hate (or is it love-to-hate?) relationship with Skylar White. I can't wait to see what she brings to this role. (Hint: I predict wonderful things.) Add to that mix Michael Pena (END OF WATCH) as Danny's father Mark Solano and Golden Globe-winner Nick Nolte (THE PRINCE OF TIDES, LUCK) and you've got a recipe for a stellar series.

As a fan of BROADCHURCH, it'll be interesting to see how the creators of GRACEPOINT differentiate one show from the other. Regardless, I do love a good murder mystery, and GRACEPOINT is exactly that. I can't wait to start guessing.

GRACEPOINT premieres on Thursday, October 2 on Fox.

Want more on GRACEPOINT? Head to the show's website for interviews with the cast and watch the trailer below:

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