The Sinner Season 1 Review: A Compelling Why-Done-It

Ii'm a little late to the party on this one. "The Sinner" season 1 launched on the USA Network last year. It is based on a Petra Hammesfahr novel by the same name. Season 2 is currently airing (but more on that at a later date)

Season 1 stars Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman. In episode 1 we see Cora Tannetti (Biel) violently stab a man to death while enjoying a nice day at the beach. The series is not interested in "who done it" (cause obviously it's Cora). Instead it explore the psychological "why done it".

Over eight episodes, Detective Harry Ambrose (Pullman) pulls the mysterious details of Cora's past together. Cora initially isnt much help. She waves her right to trial (and is facing thirty years in prison). She also has large holes in her memory. It's an interesting ride because the show doesnt telegraph where it' going ahead of time ( so I wont here either). The audience anxiously waits for the details to unfold.

My only sorta criticism is that IRL a detective would not spend this much (or any time) finding out WHY someone committed a crime. But I'm willing to suspend belief since it's a good story

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). Biel does an excellent job depicting this mentally unstable woman. Pullman is equally compelling as a detective in pursuit of the truth (while having lots of skeletons in his own closet). Biel and the show both received both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations so someone agrees it's worth a watch. And with just eight episodes it's a super quick one.