Photo Credit: Bettina Strauss/BBCA
Dirk Gently is one of those shows where seemingly nothing makes sense. Every episode raises new questions and there are so many moving pieces and ridiculous tangents, it’s hard to believe all of it is leading somewhere. Just when you think, ‘okay, I’m never going to understand this’, the show manages to tie it all up in the 8 episode long first season. At last year’s New York Comic-Con, Executive Producer Max Landis described the show as a “comedic thriller that breaks genre and can bend into any genre of magical realism, fantasy or science fiction at any given point.”
Last fall, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency premiered on BBC America. It was a wild ride filled with corgis, time travel, body hopping, secret government agencies, and a psychotic assassin. Based off the novels by Douglas Adams, the show brings us into the strange world of the titular character. Just who is Dirk Gently? He is a detective that believes in the inter-connectedness of the universe and that it will help him solve the bizarre mysteries around him. He may also be a time traveler and possibly psychic. Sound interesting?
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Photo Credit: Bettina Strauss/BBCA
The show gives us a large cast of characters, all interesting and integral to the plot. At NYCC Samuel Barnett, who plays Dirk Gently, described his character as as impulsive, relying more on intuition than logic. According to Barnett, Dirk’s main problem is that “he’s a really bad detective. He gets into trouble because he acts before thinking.” Elijah Wood’s Todd Brotzman becomes Dirk’s unlikely assistant. Jade Eshete plays Farah Black, a tactical genius and ‘badass’ bodyguard with anxiety issues, who helps keep Todd and Dirk alive while searching for her missing client.
Hot on their heels is Fiona Dourif’s Bart, a holistic assassin. Holistic detective makes sense in a strange new age kind of way. An assassin being led by the universe is a little bit frightening. Bart more than fits the bill, spending most of the season dirty, bloody and prone to solve all problems with violence. She’s accompanied by her sidekick/kidnapped victim Ken, played by Mpho Koaho, Rounding out the cast is Hannah Marks’ Amanda Brotzman, Todd’s sister. She suffers from a mysterious disease that has kept her trapped in her home.
Photo Credit: Katie Yu
The mystery is only one party of season one. The personal journeys of these characters also plays a large role. It’s about Dirk and Bart learning how to interact with people, Todd learning how to be a better person, Amanda moving out into the world and Farah figuring out how to deal with her anxiety. If you’re a fan of interesting mysteries and intriguing characters, embrace the madness and follow Dirk on this adventure. You can currently catch up with season 1 of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Dectective Agency on BBC America and Hulu. Check out the sneak peak for season 2 below:
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