Contemporary TV currently features a series of female-led revenge shows – Revenge, Scandal, Damages, Red Widow and Deception. Some are good (Scandal), some aren’t (Deception) and some I haven’t seen (Damages, Revenge, Red Widow). Somewhere along the line, producers realized that women experience obsessive revenge fantasies and tapped into it. Rogue, starring Thandie Newton, is the latest entry. Thandie Newton (Crash, M:I-2, ER, Run Fatboy Run, Truth About Charlie) plays Grace, a job-dedicated cop (to the point of obsessive) which consistently hurts her family. While investigating mobster/gangster Jimmy Lazslo, her 7-year-old son is murdered which she suspects relates to Lazslo’s affiliations.

I watched Rogue‘s first three episodes because of my huge ass Thandie Newton girl-crush. No, seriously. I WANT to be her in the most stalkery way possible. If I were smaller, British and hotter, maybe people would mistake me for a pre-plastic surgery version of her. Rogue isn’t normally my cup of tea. I hate gangster films, violent shows or anything overtly gritty like The Wire. Despite watching for Thandie, I eventually liked the show for itself. And, in the show, Thandie’s facial expressions are always perfectly on point.

The premise is this – if your son is killed, you’re a cop and you FEEL you can hunt down the killer …what do you do? Do you turn a blind eye, live an emaciated half-life and support your remaining family members? Or do you give into your compulsive side — the side that’ll do anything to bring in a killer — to pursue vague leads and hunt this person while your family suffers? I think we all know which option Grace chose.

The show goes against gender stereotypes by placing a female in a role typically restricted to male actors. Rogue distantly reminds me of the Punisher, Die Hard or any show/film surrounding a “rogue” cop. You know the premise: the cop’s family dies (or is under siege) and the hero goes on a vengeance-killing rampage to rescue them/find justice. Grace’s cowboy-focused, vengeance-oriented mentality fits easily in these established male archetypes. While a male actor could have easily taken this role, without changing a single word, writing the lead as female and casting Thandie Newton makes it different. I doubly commend the writers for not making Grace the stereotypical pretty girl who wants to be tough. Grace IS tough. She will do anything to snare her target and maintain her cover — she’ll ignore girls chained in the basement, consider having sex with her target or ponder inhaling drugs with gang members. Her decisions question my ability to cheer for her as a moral center. But, none of her decisions come across as pedantic or stereotypical pretty girl. In fact, this is what the American Prime Suspect should have been. While, yes, most of Rogue‘s actors are British or Canadian, the show is realistic in showing the difficulties of going undercover when you look like Thandie Newton, without taking away from the difficulties of the job and its detrimental familial impact.

Brian Kirk (Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Luther, The Tudors) did a good job directing the pilot. I enjoyed the rich, uber-saturated colors and the skewed distorted lens which granted the pilot, “Aquarium,” a fishbowl like feeling. I also enjoyed the cinematic cityscape perspective and high production values. My only complaint surrounded the sex. In some ways I liked it because of its realness which upended Hollywood’s stereotypical construction. In Hollywood, the man is ALWAYS on top, the man rarely shows his testicles and ONLY the woman gives orgasm face. Luckily, Rogue subverts that established template. Here, the sex isn’t always pretty; it isn’t idealized perfection or overdone romance. It’s realistic, gritty and evocative of True Blood, without delving into the grotesque. I enjoyed the realistic flash of male testicles, believable sex with the woman on top, and a raunchier non-vanilla depiction of sex. However, after a point, when the camera consistently focused on the female’s chest area or the sex scene went on slightly too long, it felt more like a T&A show a la the Tudors. Grace has tits. The other female characters have tits. I get it. Please stop aggressively flashing BAFTA-award winning Thandie Newton’s breasts at me. Oh, and show more male testicles.

One reviewer I talked to felt the actors went in and out of character. Admittedly, there were times the actors seemed slightly off but I couldn’t tell if it they hadn’t gelled yet or were directed to act deliberately low-key in tone and face to reflect the show’s gritty tone. And, yes, you might notice Thandie and Josh’s American accents flatten out at the end of each sentence. I’ve seen (and heard) Thandie do a better American accent, so I’ll assume this is her gritty cop voice.

Rogue premieres on April 3rd at 9pm on DirectTV’s Audience. For more information, check out:

Website: Directv.com/rogue
Facebook: Facebook.com/RogueDIRECTV
Twitter: Twitter.com/RogueDIRECTV

I enjoyed talking to Rogue’s Joshua Sasse and Leah Gibson, the gangster version of Lord and Lady Macbeth. Rogue, starring Thandie Newton, premieres Wednesday, April 3 at 9PM on DirecTV’s Audience network. The show surrounds a vengeance-focused cop, Grace (Newton), who runs a “rogue” undercover investigation on  gangster Jimmy Laszlo. She suspects someone affiliated with his operation can reveal the truth behind her son’s mysterious death. UK-raised Josh plays Jimmy Laszlo’s impetuous son, Alec. Strong and hot-headed, he’s desperate to ascend to the throne in a kingdom run by a long-living monarch (think Prince Charles). Canadian Leah Gibson portrays his wife, Cathy, the brains behind the throne. Serving as her husband’s dark id or reverse Jiminy Cricket, she consistently pushes Alec to achieve roles or take action his father disavows. Each of the Lazslo family members, including Cathy (Gibson) and Alec (Sasse), have an odd relationship with Grace (Newton), alternating between interest,  camaraderie, jealousy, desire and distrust.

While Sasse’s character, Alec, speaks with an American accent, in the show Sasse carried himself like an East London boxer, coiled and tightly wound. During our brief chat, his polished Exeter voice utterly surprised me. In fact, with his tightly buttoned oxford shirt, his European red scarf and his definitive opinions, he reminded me of James Purefoy. Is there a school that British actors attend where they learn to rock scarves, opinions and utter confidence with casual aplomb? If so, sign me up! On the show, Sasse is striking. His eyes consistently arrested me as a viewer. However, in person, his casual intelligence and uber-confidence struck me even more. He analogized Philadelphia’s Old City with Georgian architecture, which is true, and described their remaining press junket. In contrast to her co-star’s intensity, Leah is utterly bubbly, open and adorable. Rocking silver heels and artfully torn leggings, she easily talked about herself, her family and her personal life. I hope she doesn’t lose that cheerful openness as her career progresses. I just wanted to invite her out for beers and a guy gab-fest afterwards.

Prior to Josh and Leah’s arrival, my fellow on-line co-writers and I discussed the show’s most striking scenes. You know the show’s skewed towards an adult audience because, well, it features a lot of sex. A LOT. I started off the interview by asking how the two choreographed their love scenes, particularly a visually arresting glass-walled one. Josh made certain we understood that “it’s telling a story” and not an “empty bit of porn” for “sex’s sake.” Note: I think I had a similar conversation with James Purefoy who also rocked a scarf. Leah revealed they “discussed the scene for two weeks.” It possibly resonated with her longer as it served as her audition scene. I’m always happy when actresses indicate gender awareness. Gibson proudly pointed out a female director choreographed the third episode featuring their defining scene. Overall, both actors viewed the scene as “strong” and “powerful” with “high emotional stakes.” You’ll understand when you see it. However, I realized you cannot star in Rogue, unless you have a perfect body. Trust me.

Although Leah based her character on strong female archetypes, her understanding of Cathy popped in that scene. In contrast, Josh initially based his on Charles Manson i.e. a quiet powder keg waiting to explode. (Interestingly, I had a similar conversation with James Purefoy.) Revealing a startling understanding of his character, Josh explicated Jimmy’s sons as his two sides: one is the brains and the other the impetuous brawn. The characters and the scenes are intense. To de-stress, Leah admitted doing a LOT of yoga while Josh purchased an old Dodge that he used to investigate the city. I remember playing a suicidal student once in my early 30s. Let me tell you, I couldn’t stop crying after the day ended. I completely understood. It was nice watching Leah and Josh as they easily interacted with each other. We introduced a topic and they ran with it while finishing each other’s sentences, casually indicating their on-screen husband and wife relationship.

Josh admitted the script’s high quality attracted him while depicting his awareness of other mobster shows by delineating other shows like Boardwalk Empire which he correctly categorized as nostalgia, and describing show creator Matthew Parkhill’s writing as “incredible” in its “complexity” and “intricacy” of intertwining worlds.

At the end of the interview, Josh appeared willing to stand beside a Rogue poster so I could grab a photo. But, I wanted to photograph him with Leah. Unfortunately, once he sat back down, Cathy found herself pulled into a conversation and Josh into another. Oh, well. Sorry, ladies. Mea Culpa. Rogue comes out next week. For a sneak preview, check out the show at the below sites. Also, for a full audio of the interview, listen below!

Website: Directv.com/rogue
Facebook: Facebook.com/RogueDIRECTV
Twitter: Twitter.com/RogueDIRECTV

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzY70NHFb2k

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B0089K7DGW” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qVorCOtBL._SL160_.jpg” width=”133″]