Unbelievable: The Best TV Drama of 2019 (So Far)

I watch a lot of television, so speed is often of the essence when I’m set to review a show. In fact, I had hoped to get my review of Unbelievable, Netflix’s latest eight-episode limited series, up on Monday this week. But I missed that deadline because I wanted to savor every moment of this incredible series.

Now, I don’t want that to be misinterpreted as I wanted to wallow in the dark subject matter of the series, which follows the real-life saga of the search for a serial rapist, but to highlight just how good Unbelievable really is. Remember several years back when the second season of HBO’s True Detective was announced and everyone was putting together memes with their dream team duo for the series? And then remember just how awful the second season actually was? Unbelievable is the second season of True Detective we had all hoped for.

The dual narrative structure (one portion of the series is set in 2008 in the immediate aftermath of Marie Adler’s, played by the excellent Kaitlyn Dever, sexual assault in Washington state, while the other half is in 2011, following the investigation of Det. Grace Rasmussen – Toni Collette, who is perfectly cast – and Det. Karen Duvall – Merritt Weaver, the heart of the piece – into a series of linked sexual assaults in Colorado) is easy to follow, and allows two distinct tales to be told. But the clear narrative structure of the show is only one of the many aspects that make this the best drama to air in 2019.

Unbelievable tackles rape and its aftermath with the breadth and depth one doesn’t normally see in these types of stories. It’s likely not a coincidence that each episode has a credited female writer (and five of the eight episodes have female directors). The assaults themselves are never fully shown; instead, we receive snippets of memory from the victims. There’s no tracking shots of the violence, no female nudity. We see and experience enough to understand what happened, but these characters are not defined by that moment in time. Yes, Marie’s arc is her dealing with the aftermath of the sexual assault, but that’s not what we take away from her character. We spend enough time with the victims in the story to get a full picture of their lives – to understand that each woman processes something like this in a different manner, and that the actions (or in Marie’s case, inaction) of the detectives involved in the case have a clear and immediate impact on how each woman begins to deal with the event. The acts of violence in the story are horrific, but by building out the characters beyond the crimes the show allows us to see each character as a fully-formed person and not merely an object. It’s amazing how that simple narrative choice takes this from more of the same to something extraordinary.

Every character within the piece has layers that are explored. Rasmussen and Duvall’s husbands are ::gasp:: wonderful men who are supportive of their wives’ careers (and who have fulfilling careers of their own). The investigative team surrounding the detectives is smart, efficient, and focused on their jobs. No one is showboating or screwing up. Hell, even Detective Parker (played with more depth than one might initially assume by Eric Lange), the detective who doesn’t believe Marie, has more to him than meets the eye. No, the series doesn’t excuse his heinous mistake, but it allows the story to take the time to explore it and reckon with it. No one in Unbelievable (save for the rapist) is painted with a black or white brush – these are characters that have shades of gray to them.

But what this story really does is present all facets of how the criminal justice can fail and succeed when it comes to sexual assault and rape cases. There are inherent biases baked into these investigations, whether it’s judging the character of the victim, bringing a detective’s own ideas of how such an assault should happen, to not believing that “a person like that” could have committed such a crime. Marie’s story parses each of these elements, picking apart what we think we know about her from her background and current circumstances. While we know Marie was raped – we’ve seen snippets of it, after all – it’s hard not to start doubting her statement once other characters begin expressing their doubts. And, on the opposite side of things, watching Detective Duvall calmly and carefully allow the victims in her case to talk through their experience, making sure not to judge them or place any set of expectations on them, shows us just how a rape investigation can go right. That dichotomy is what lives in the heart of the story – allowing us the ability to check our own bias and learn how empathy can, in fact, make a difference.

Of course, a series like this doesn’t work without a cast up to the task, and Unbelievable has that in spades. Dever is called upon to carry her entire half of the storyline, letting us see how the aftermath of Marie’s assault has impacted every aspect of her life. She’s afforded wonderful co-stars (including Elizabeth Marvel and Bridget Everett as two of Marie’s foster moms and Brooke Smith as her court-appointed therapist) to help share the load, but much of Marie’s story is told through Dever’s facial expressions. For those who only know of her work from the excellent Booksmart, she’s an absolute dramatic revelation here and I cannot wait to see what else she has in store throughout her future career.

On the other side of things, the duo of Collette and Weaver is just plain perfection. The chemistry and interplay between Rasmussen and Duvall is what made a fairly typical tale of investigation into something you both want to binge and savor. I was actually sad to see the series end, knowing that I wouldn’t get the chance to sit down and watch these women play off one another again. Unbelievable was the perfect marriage of actor to character (I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoiling the experience for those who haven’t watched, but every time Collette and Weaver are on screen – either together or separately – the series absolutely soars), something that rarely happens in the business, but truly magical to watch when it does.

So, to sum up my opus, Unbelievable is an incredible eight-episode series that represents the best of what the television medium can produce. A word of warning: Those who are triggered by sexual assault, rape, and sexual violence might want to skip it. While I wouldn’t classify anything in the series as graphic, it is still a heavy story that deals frankly with rape. That being said, there’s something incredibly special about this series, from the top-notch writing, the exceptional performances, and the great direction. This is a series I hope resonates for years to come.