Hap and Leonard might just be my new favourite show.
Hap and Leonard makes me want to sing that R.Kelly song, what was it called, oh yeah, you remind me of something. The lyrics went something like, “You remind me of my jeep, I wanna ride it, something like my sound, I wanna pump it…and something like my bank account, I wanna spend it.” To cut the long story short, what I mean is that this is a good show. There’s something about it. Maybe it’s the “True Detective” vibe or maybe it’s the understated jokes or maybe it’s seeing Christina Hendricks again. Whatever it is, I am enjoying it immensely.
*Spoilers*
The show begins with a 1968 police chase. The cops seem to be chasing two robbers who’ve robbed a bank. The robbers take a side road and manage to evade the cops only to end up in a river. Only one of them survives. Then the scene cuts to 1988 where Hap (James Purefoy) and Leonard (Michael Williams) are working on a rose farm. As Leonard makes fun of Hap, their boss comes along and fires them, citing cheap Mexican labour. As if sensing their desperation, an old girlfriend of Hap’s (Christina Hendricks in all her glory) shows up and offers them a deal they can’t refuse.
The “feel good” vibe that comes when you watch this show is something that starts from deep inside your soul and then lingers on long after the first episode is over. However, you will only get that feeling if you’re into drama whose complexities are embedded under the surface and are not visible. There is a dark undertone to the whole drama that is reminiscent of “True Detective” or a Tarantino movie, but it doesn’t feel suffocating. The show premiered yesterday (2nd March 2016) and will feature six episodes. You can watch the first episode online and the second on the Sundance website.
