Season Premiere of K-Ville a Lot like Crawfish Etoufee: Impressive -- and Pretty Saucy

The season premiere of Fox's new crime drama series, K-Ville, aired Monday, September 17^th at 9:00 pm. I tuned in to watch, mostly out of curiosity, and walked away feeling I had definitely experienced something worthy of water cooler conversation. While the show is far from flawless, I think that, for the most part, it does a pretty darn good job of meeting the expectations of its audience.

The premiere introduces us to Marlin Boulet (played by Anthony Anderson), a seasoned officer of the New Orleans Police Department, a native resident who stayed behind after Hurricane Katrina. Determined to help get the city back on its feet, Marlin nevertheless experiences moments of setback and even defeat: he has to keep a vigil over the cypress tree in his front yard after a neighbor tries to steal it; he has trouble accepting his new partner; and when his old partner returns, Marlin cannot bring himself to rescue him because he hasn't forgiven him for abandoning Marlin in the aftermath of Katrina.

The complexity of Marlin's character is one of the best aspects of the show, and I'm interested in seeing it grow and change over the course of the season.

Other aspects of the show that will keep me tuned in include the interesting dynamic between Marlin and his new partner, Trevor Cobb (played by Cole Hauser); the show's willingness to address problems particular to Post-Katrina New Orleans: corruption, lack of funds, a definite rise in criminal activity, and a general atmosphere of ambivalence; and little snippets of humor that add flavor to some pretty heavy subject matter.