The first episode was pretty good. Sorta dry, story idea sorta but not really original, has some rough edges, but overall I really enjoyed it. Much better than I feared, actually. But then I do tend to trust Bateman.
Spoilery (but good) trailer:
Episode 2 also surpassed my expectations, and surprised me in a few ways. This show is starting to really grab me now. Sorry if my impressions seem sparse, trying hard to avoid spoiling the plot.
I’ve watched the first episode and the story is very interesting but also very dark. I’m intrigued to watch more but I hope it doesn’t make me depressed.
Since trailer is spoilery, could you tell us what kind of show it even is? I’ve never heard of it, but my FB Timeline has been blowing up with [vague, inspecific] praise. I’m intrigued, but I literally don’t know anything about it except that Jason Bateman apparently isn’t the actor I have been mentally associating with that name for the last few years.
I would call it a “Breaking Bad-like”, for the tone.
Lede buried:
Laura Linney is in this.
While I still have absolutely no idea what the show is about or even what genre it is, that probably tells me all I need to know to know I shouldn’t watch it :)
Plot: Bateman plays a money launderer (officially a financial adviser) and family man who gets caught up in something dangerous involving a Mexican drug cartel, and is forced to move his family away from Chicago and into the Missouri Ozarks. There, he starts looking for ways to launder ~$8m by investing in local businesses. As one might expect with such a plot, this turns out to not as easy as he initially hopes for. What’s interesting is this is Bateman’s first significant (I think) non-comedic role.
It sorta has a Breaking Bad feel, I can see the similarity. I think BB helped open a door for darker material like this. I’m a few episodes in and still really liking it, but then I tend to be drawn to dark, sorta depressing themes (when done well).
The casting is superb. Acting is good. Writing/plot might be a tad more original but they’re pulling it off. I’m nearly halfway through binging on the first season and think it has a pretty good chance of being renewed.
This show is idiotic. Jason Bateman is an automaton. Everybody is downright loathsome, especially the blonde Ozarkian chick. I spend every episode hoping everybody will die. I don’t think I’m going to finish this one.
Finished it. It’s kind of a meh, but a serviceable meh in this age of evolving television. I feel like if this show had come out several years ago it might have been a bigger deal. Today, anyone with a bit of skill and talent can come up with something like this. I’m really trying hard to not compare it to BB, because the two shows are very different, but I do feel like this show might have been trying to emulate BB and shows like it to some degree.
I haven’t watched this, so I assume all the characters just visit Branson every week.
We watched the pilot tonight. I thought it was just OK, but I’m willing to give it another shot.
I am up to Ep 7. I am conflicted about this.
It’s got good acting. It’s got good production values. There’s no huge plot holes, no characters that act contrary to their nature. The teenagers don’t even annoy me too much.
Still, it’s becoming somewhat of a chore to watch. I think it’s because nothing good really happens. There’s no happy moments. It’s not an upward march against all odds, but a Sisyphean struggle where the main character suffers privately but keeps a brave face. It’s depressing!
Wait saying it’s not good acting is just absurd. At a minimum Bateman and Linney are terrific.
Yeah, I had no problem with the acting. But I agree with everything else wisefool said.
I actually binged watched this over the weekend and enjoyed it quite a bit. Is it BB or BCS good? No, but I enjoyed it and don’t regret the 10 hours I spent watching it. I thought Jason Bateman did a good job and enjoyed most of the acting/characters besides maybe the kids.
Watched the first episode last night. Jason Bateman is really good in this. Even when he’s not talking, his mannerisms and facial expressions perfectly portray a man barely keeping it together while thinking quickly on his feet. The phone scenes with the bankers, and then again in the vault, as well as his interactions with the cartel boss all illustrate this nicely. If he keeps this up throughout the series it will be an Emmy-worthy performance.
The plot is pretty interesting. Financial guys laundering cartel money, one gets greedy and chaos results. I do find it kind of difficult to believe that Bateman’s character had no clue his partner was skimming, though to be fair it seems like Marty had a lot of personal issues going on that could have distracted him.
I am really curious how Marty plans to launder millions of dollars through Lake of the Ozarks. I hope the show details this throughout, as I find the financial aspect of what he’s doing just as compelling as the character drama.
I binge watched over the weekend. I really liked it. I thought it was a nice combo of Breaking Bad meets Justified.
I’d definitely watch a second season. I was also very interested in the money laundering details.
Just adding my “thumbs up” for this show. Semi-binged it over a week, 1-3 episodes per day, and found myself completely immersed in Marty’s initially self-inflicted, yet progressively escalated dark corner of Hell. As others have stated, it’s very Breaking Bad-ish, although I believe I identified with and had a bit more sympathy towards Marty than I did Walter. Bateman has the “so much more going on behind the eyes” look perfected, and I also really liked how the children were slowly transitioned from being treated like children to being treated at least partially as intelligent, respected partners whose ideas, actions and opinions mattered.
I liked it alot, but I feel it could have been much better.