Beyond the surface-level thrills of the “murder mystery,” what’s the deeper, human territory explored in this show?
Well, take away the mystery and the murders and the world that it’s set in, what you’re left with is a community of people who care about each other, who are there for each other, who are consistent with each other. And it was important that we found those aspects in these characters, because Kensington is a real place. There are a lot of people in Kensington that are going to watch this.
And take it away from Kensington, it’s the houseless, the addiction, the sex workers — this is an international story. Kensington could be anywhere. You have these people who are at the heart of the story who care about their community. In the first episode, you see the flashbacks where Truman is guiding Mickey in his way of policing, and understanding that this community is important. We can’t just sit and ignore them . . . We all watch it in the media feeling we are so far removed from them. We’re closer to it than we think. It’s right on your doorstep.
Is there a tough balance to strike between portraying how tough it is to be a cop, while also acknowledging the institutional failings of law enforcement?
That was one of the things that was so brilliant and brave in the writing. Because we’ve seen a million cop dramas and we’ve seen a million mystery stories that portray things just the one way, which we all sit at home and we love. But then, when you take Mickey and Truman, and you strip elements of that away and you see them for who they are as people, it gives you a different perspective on what it is we think we know . . . You see Truman helping a local business owner care for some of the people who are houseless and stuck in addiction. It was really wonderful seeing that on the page. When I’m reading, I’m an audience member and I’m going: “This is something that’s going to really touch me.”
On that note, do you think Long Bright River manages to sidestep some of the genre’s well-worn tropes/clichés?
I really feel it does. As an actor, I read so many scripts per month and I’m notorious for saying no, because if I don’t feel the material is something I want to be a part of telling, or if the characters don’t scare me enough, it’s best not to have me. Repeatedly, you see very similar types of cop shows, and this one jumped out as being different — because there was that element of seeing things from a completely different angle to what we’ve seen before.
What is Truman’s greatest strength, and what’s his blind spot?
His greatest strength is his humanity; he sees the good in everyone. His biggest blind spot is himself. He’s an avoidant — everything other than himself is important. He allows things to get out of control, and doesn’t take a moment to take stock. He has a gambling addiction he still hasn’t taken care of, which ruined his marriage. While he’s busy avoiding himself, he’s pouring all of [his energy] into making this environment a safe space . . . It allows him not to be distracted by his own demons.
What intrigued you about Truman’s complex partnership with Mickey?
He is a real keystone for Mickey — he is that safety net. She didn’t have that in her father, she didn’t have that in her ex — and she needed to be able to have a male figure in her life that she could trust, that she could really, really be vulnerable with.
Long Bright River airs Saturday, March 29 on USA Network; All episodes now streaming on Crave
MEMORABLE ROLES:
With ample credits to his name on both sides of the pond, London-born Nicholas Pinnock is known in the U.K. for such roundly acclaimed crime dramas as Top Boy and Marcella. In the U.S., from 2020-21, he led ABC’s For Life, based on the true story of a wrongly convicted man who got a law degree while in prison and began advocating for not only himself, but his fellow inmates.
CURRENT GIG:
These days, Pinnock stars in Long Bright River, another gritty crime thriller — this one set in Kensington, Philadelphia, where young patrol cop Mickey Fitzpatrick (Amanda Seyfried) and her mentor Truman Dawes (Pinnock) dig into a deeply personal mystery set against the backdrop of the raging opioid and homelessness crises.