Justified: City Primeval: City Primeval

July 20, 2023 10:59 AM - Season 1, Episode 1

After Raylan Givens left the hollers of Kentucky 15 years ago, a chance encounter in the Florida swamps sends him to Detroit and places him on a collision course with a violent sociopath and a formidable defense attorney.

Sepinwall season/series review:

Most TV revivals fail creatively because great shows are a product of a particular moment in time for both the characters and the audience. The few that work (like The Conners) do so because they acknowledge how the passage of time has changed the people onscreen, and those of us watching them. City Primeval very smartly does this, finding ways to recontextualize Raylan’s behavior, while still managing to tell an entertaining yarn about him and a colorful collection of supporting characters.

posted by Frayed Knot (9 comments total)

finding ways to recontextualize Raylan’s behavior

Even after all these years, Raylan's reaction to being assigned to another "task force" is still "Nope, my supervisor will definitely not allow that!" and the reaction is still "Nah, your supervisor says we should keep you for a couple of weeks extra once this is done."
posted by Etrigan at 11:07 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

We watched this last night and absolutely loved it. I was so happy to get a fix of Raylan Givens back in my life.

Also, being from Ann Arbor, a suburb of Detroit, it's kind of fun when a TV show is set in your back yard. Except as I understand it, aside from the establishing shots, it was all filmed in Chicago. I'm sure there's a reason for that (probably one involving money), but it bummed me out.
posted by kbanas at 1:00 PM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

This summer is peak Timothy Olyphant and I'm here for it. It's interesting to see Justified get the Prestige treatment here. It was always a good but kind of dumb and cheap (read: USA network) tv show, that was good mainly because of the performances and some sometimes clever scripting. Now it looks like a million bucks and that seems somehow... wrong? Anyway here's hoping this does well and Boyd Crowder shows up in the second season (approx 3 years from now given strikes)
posted by dis_integration at 2:41 PM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

Also, being from Ann Arbor, a suburb of Detroit

A what now?

That aside, I wonder whether to what extent the Detroit setting is a deliberate tip of the hat from the new show's writers to Elmore Leonard. I mean.. they could have chosen any number of locations but it seems fitting for Leonard's characters to wind up in Detroit..
posted by Nerd of the North at 9:53 PM on July 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

I don't remember the original series seeming cheap but it's been a while since I last watched it. This new series had slipped under my radar so I'm totally looking forward to it.
posted by onya at 11:46 PM on July 21, 2023

it seems fitting for Leonard's characters to wind up in Detroit..

This series is based on Elmore Leonard's novel City Primeval: High Noon In Detroit, which features a homicide detective who's not Raylan Givens. The writers turned it into a Raylan story for the show.
posted by mediareport at 6:59 AM on July 22, 2023 [5 favorites]

I....cannot believe Willa's baby baby baby voice. Just...this is how she talks? For real? She makes old school Paris Hilton sound like Barry White. I hate to rip on a teen nepo baby in her first role, but she's distractingly bad. Watching cat videos in court?

Otherwise fairly good so far, but oy on that girl.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:23 AM on July 22, 2023 [5 favorites]

Would Raylan wear his hat at the dinner table?
posted by oldnumberseven at 7:43 PM on July 22, 2023

This series is based on Elmore Leonard's novel City Primeval: High Noon In Detroit, which features a homicide detective who's not Raylan Givens. The writers turned it into a Raylan story for the show.

There's some discussion about this in the Timothy Olyphant interview on NPR Fresh Air.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:10 AM on July 26, 2023