It’s not a bad idea: modest but high-quality adaptations of mystery novels by best-sellers like Scott Turow, Sandra Brown, Richard North Patterson and others. TNT’s made a major investment, and the pay-off is five different original films premiering in late November and early December…and the best news? Most of them have Latinos in prominent roles.
The first, Scott Turow’s Innocent, premiered Tuesday with Alfred Molina in the role of the heroic lawyer defending Bill Pullman’s character, who is accused of murdering his own wife (Pullman, once the perennial good guy and even the heroic president in Independence Day, has gone seedy and mean for more recent roles, including a really creepy turn as a serial killer in Torchwood: Miracle Day.) The frighteningly intelligent Marcia Gay Harden plays the assumed murdered wife, and the movie is as smart and tense as all of Turow’s other work (Presumed Innocent).
Best news of all: if you missed it on Tuesday, set your TiVo’s for Friday 12/2 at 1 am or catch it on Saturday 12/3 at noon.
And that’s only the beginning.
- Well-respected Latino director Nick Gomez (Sleeper Cell, Dexter, Detroit 1-8-7) is helming Ricochet, an adaptation of Sandra Brown’s novel, this one starring Gary Cole and John Corbett. It premieres Wednesday 11/30 at 9P, then repeats immediately at midnight. It will also be rebroadcast Saturday morning 12/3 at 1 am and show up on Sunday 12/4 at noon.
- Kevin Alejandro (Southland, True Blood) co-stars with Carla Gugino and Paul-Mark Gosselaar in Hide, based on Lisa Gardner’s psychological thrillers. It will show up Tuesday 12/6 at 9P and repeats immediately at midnight, than re-appears on Friday night 12/9 at midnight and Saturday 12/10 at noon.
TNT’s has three more movies as well, based on works by Richard North Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark, among others, also premiering in December. You can get the details on all of them here.
Plenty of opportunities to see new work from some solid Latino talent, even in the midst of a bleak December.
