The TV Chick

Justified is a new series coming to FX, the network that has brought us The Shield, Sons of Anarchy, Damages, and most recently Archer. The show centers around Raylan Givens (played by the incredibly talented and may I add good looking Timothy Olyphant), a Deputy U.S. Marshal who gets relocated back to his hometown of Harlan, Kentucky after he shoots and kills an enemy. The guy (who we learn later has a long history with Raylan) pulled a gun on Raylan first so it was justified, but his boss relocates him as “punishment” and to avoid bad press.

Raylan grew up with a career criminal father, and desired to be everything he wasn’t. Even though he got out of Kentucky, his past still follows him around as he finds out when he has to return to town. His new boss Art Muller (played by TV and film veteran Nick Searcy), gives him a case that involves a guy he used to mine coal with when he was a teenager, Boyd Crowder (played by Walton Goggins who you might recognize from The Shield). Boyd was involved in a church bombing, but is a neo-nazi who partakes in vigilante justice from what I could gather. To get to the bottom of the case, Raylan visits an old friend/flame Ava Crowder (played by Joelle Carter). Ava was married to Boyd’s brother Bowman. After his football career became non-existent, he became abusive and Ava killed him with his own rifle.

The rest of the premiere involves Raylan investigating the case with Boyd and Ava, coming to terms with his past, sexual tension and much more. The show is absolutely beautifully shot. What I was most surprised about is that generally, westerns that involve gun-slinging and violence don’t usually keep my interest. I am more of a comedy/feel good drama type of girl so a show that centers around a U.S. Marshall who shoots a lot of people isn’t generally my type. However, this show completely impressed me. The acting is phenomenal. Timothy Olyphant is a perfect leading actor and the rest of the cast is well-rounded and equally as impressive. A show that is essentially a modern western runs the risk of being unable to translate to a contemporary audience but I thought Justified was very relevant. There were lighthearted moments in addition to tense, super dramatic ones and all the writing felt genuine and natural. I also loved seeing a very strong female lead to balance out the strong lead male. Joelle Carter is great as Ayla and I am interested to find out what her relationship with Raylan develops into. I also wonder if there will be more pieces of Raylan’s past that come back to haunt him. His father (I’m pretty sure/presuming he is still alive) will inevitably come into the picture at some point, and there’s just so many possible storylines and places to go. Also at the end of the episode, his ex-wife comes into the picture, and I want to see  what happens with them. Sometimes I say that pilots have a lot of potential, but this show not only has a lot of potential, but really is already there, especially in terms of character development. As with Legend of the Seeker, when I had previously declared myself not really a lover of all things sci-fi/fantasy, Justified may have converted in me into someone who enjoys this justice/law/western type show. It is procedural in a way, but the show is about the characters and not the cases. And these are some amazing characters with incredibly interesting jobs and histories.

Justified premieres tomorrow night at 10 pm on FX. This is really a show that is not to be missed!