Get Shorty season 1

Seemingly released overnight in UK to not much of a reaction here, the TV adaptation to Elmore Leonard's Get Shorty novel caught my interest purely because I no one else was talking about it. I never saw the John Travolta 1990s film and with nothing more than a short advert where Chris O'Dowd blackmails a businessperson I knew very little going in.

Enjoying this rarity of an experience, the show begins with a scene of brutal violence and jumps to O'Dowd's Irish father, Miles, trying to convince his Nevadan ex to let him see more of his daughter. Here we then learn that he's an enforcer for a small-time mob but is trying to get out and turn his life around. It was strange at first seeing in O'Dowd in this type of role outside of The IT Crowd but he nailed the role that utilises his comic background while also displaying a darker side he rarely gets to show. I was even more surprised to see an older Ray Romano from Everybody Loves Raymond (something I never thought I'd write about here) feature but Get Shorty if anything is full of surprises.

However, I did find the first few episodes tricky and I did wonder if the show would be for me before I knew what the story would be about. And to add, there are some characters who are pushed to front at the start and then fall to the background by the end which made the narrative feel somewhat muddled. This will test a few, as it did for, but I'm glad I continued with this one.

For fans of Fargo or Breaking Bad, this series is an easy recommend with its entertaining mix of satirical comedy and drama. But like many shows, this one did take an episode or two before I was truly sold when the story gets underway. However, I can't count that against the show that is very well written, features an excellent cast and will hopefully not disappoint with season two.