Television review
AMERICAN CRIME
Starring: Felicity Huffman, Regina King, Connor Jessup, Richard Cabral, Benito Martinez, Ana Mulvoy-Ten, Sandra Oh, Cherry Jones, Dallas Roberts, Janel Moloney, Tim DeKay
On: ABC, Sunday at 10 p.m.
Describing the first two seasons of the fine ABC anthology drama “American Crime’’ wasn’t difficult. The first was about a home invasion gone wrong, and the second was about sexual assault at a private school. Both seasons spiraled out of their premises into fascinatingly complex stories, with factors of race, class, sexuality, and gender all in play; but they began with focus. An elevator pitch was possible.
Season three of “American Crime’’ premieres on Sunday at 10 p.m., and it immediately opens onto a broad canvas, one that defies easy summary. There are a number of stories, all set in North Carolina — about an undocumented field worker just arrived from Mexico, about the family that owns a failing tomato farm, about a teen boy and girl being sexually exploited, and about a young opioid addict. And each of these stories includes a number of characters, each with his or her own specific struggles.
So the scope is wider this season, but that is certainly not a bad thing. After watching the first four episodes, I was thoroughly invested, and deeply impressed once again by show creator John Ridley’s ambition. Gradually, the plots begin to connect more clearly, and we begin to see how all the social problems that Ridley has set loose are linked. And the season’s integrated vision of our country’s difficulties — the American crimes of the title — becomes clear.
I hope I’m not making the show sound like work. It’s not, as the writing strikes a masterful balance between the general issues afflicting America and the individual characters, each so specific and relatable. I know that “This Is Us’’ is currently the network drama winning hearts and attracting awards buzz, but “American Crime’’ ought to be mentioned in the same breath, as the best that broadcast TV has to offer right now. It makes the most of the content and commercial restrictions that can flatten other network shows.
The actors, as usual on this show, are excellent. Felicity Huffman is particularly good — she has played three different characters on “American Crime,’’ one each season, and each is so different, distinct, and powerful. This time, she is a submissive wife who has married into the tomato farm family, and who is just beginning to realize how the workers are mistreated. “These people are our responsibility,’’ she says to her unsympathetic husband (Dallas Roberts). Regina King returns, this time as a professional helping teens get off the streets and a single woman hoping to have a baby. Benito Martinez returns, too, as a man looking for his son. Martinez is the heart of the first four episodes.
One thing Ridley does that adds value to “American Crime’’: He takes his time. He lets the camera linger on his actors’ faces, gives their performances room, allows us to watch them and look for glimpses of soul. In a scene in which one abused teen is talking to her pimp, we only see her face during the conversation. Some of the street material reminded me of season three of “The Killing,’’ a more violent show but one that also let the actors live and breathe. During the first season, Ridley overdid some of his stylistic effects, but he has honed his approach, playing with the camera work or pacing more subtly and sparely.
Connor Jessup was a revelation last season as the sexually abused boy, and he is back this time as a teen imprisoned by drugs. Ridley has good instincts when it comes to young actors, and this season’s discovery is Ana Mulvoy-Ten, who plays a teen in trouble. As with Jessup, Ridley gives her space to convey emotion without words, to communicate her character’s weariness and numbness. We don’t tend to see precocious young people on “American Crime.’’ They are the victims in this sensitive, smart series.
AMERICAN CRIME
Starring: Felicity Huffman, Regina King, Connor Jessup, Richard Cabral, Benito Martinez, Ana Mulvoy-Ten, Sandra Oh, Cherry Jones, Dallas Roberts, Janel Moloney, Tim DeKay
On: ABC, Sunday at 10 p.m.
By Matthew Gilbert
Globe Staff
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com.
