TV Review - Stumptown

This is an adaption of the graphic novel or comic book by Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth and Justin Greenwood. It was developed for television by Jason Richman. It feels like a warped version of Veronica Mars with dribbles of something like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Like Veronica Mars, this series centers on a female private eye, a lady detective. Veronica Mars isn't as boozy as the woman here is. The woman here is certainly rougher around the edges, a bit more sloppy. She's smart and tough, but just not as put together. The dribbles of something like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Alias or Buffy, the Vampire Slayer come simply in the fact that this is another to add to the list of shows where women fight and are really good at martial arts, or at least good at throwing and even taking punches. There might not be fight choreography in every episode, but the potential seems to be there for some kind of action whether it's car chases or shootouts.

Cobie Smulders (Friends From College and How I Met Your Mother) stars as Dex Parios, the detective in question, the boozy and rough private eye. She was in the military. She suffers from PTSD, stemming from an IED explosion, which killed not only a fellow soldier but a love interest of hers, a Native American soldier named Benny Blackburn. Ever since she's been back, she's just been a gruff person. She drives an old Ford Mustang GTO. Watching her solve various crimes and mysteries in that gruff style is appealing. It's also fun to watch her kick-ass. Smulders was actually in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as a couple of The Avengers movies, so she's no stranger to action.

One thing that's a question mark though is in the comics. According to that graphic novel, Dex is bisexual. She sleeps with both men and women. So far, however, we've only seen her hook-up with men. So far, the show has only surrounded her with eligible bachelors. Two men in particular swirl around her. There is a woman, a slightly older one, but that doesn't seem like a possibility for Dex. We'll see how the show progresses, but it's sad that the show hasn't even addressed that aspect to her in the first, two episodes.

Jake Johnson (New Girl and Jurassic World) co-stars as Grey McConnell, the owner of a bar called Bad Alibi. He's also been friends with Dex for six years. They met immediately after she stopped an armed robbery at a convenience store. They then had a one-night-stand. They've since decided to be friends and not be romantically involved. He seems to have financial issues that he's keeping from her, so how that turns out remains to be seen. If the two will change their minds about just being friends also remains to be seen.

Michael Ealy (Being Mary Jane and Secrets and Lies) also co-stars as Miles Hoffman, a detective with the Porland Police Department. He frequently crosses paths with Dex because often they'll work on the same case. He's another of Dex's hook-ups. The two of them are seemingly keeping a professional distance. If the two will change their minds about that professional distance remains to be seen.

Rated TV-14-LSV.
Running Time: 1 hr.
Wednesdays at 10PM on ABC.