Bingeworthy™ Breakdown: ‘Seven Seconds’ Is Uneven, But Compelling Viewing

The Bingeworthy™ Breakdown is an occasional look at new TV shows. Over 500 scripted seasons of TV are expected to air in 2018, and to help you sort the wheat from the chaff, we’re going to give you the lowdown to help you work out whether it’s worth tuning in every week for them or waiting to binge later. Today we look at Netflix‘s “Seven Seconds.”

So you’ve seen all ten episodes of the show?
I certainly have and it’s the first time I’ve binge watched an hour long drama in a very, long time.

Is it a show that fits the streaming format of binging?
No, but not to its detriment. Like many original series that drop on streaming services, “Seven Seconds” very much follows the ten hour long movie playbook where each episode bleeds into the next. There are some side plots, some more effective than others, but none as engaging as the main one which follows the coverup of an accident that critically injures Brenton Butler, a black 15 year-old boy, and the subsequent investigation. That being said, it’s a show that could’ve done with a touch of breathing room, building up anticipation on a week to week basis, with viewers forced to anticipate the mysteries and resolutions rather than get instant gratification.

What is the show about beyond the main plot and investigation?
Really that’s THE plot — as it should be. “Seven Seconds” follows the Butler family as they deal with the widespread fallout after a white cop accidentally hits and injures Brenton. The authorities of Jersey City must then deal with rising racial tensions as the cover up explodes and gets further and further out of control. The primary threads follow the Butler family as they deal with their son’s critical injury, the cops involved in the cover up, and a odd-couple team up of a drunken assistant prosecutor who has been assigned to the incident against her wishes and smart aleck detective who’s new in town. (Yes, you’re right, we’ve seen that last bit before).

The drama primarily stems from the decision to cover up the accident in the first place. Commanding officer David Lyons’ Mike Diangelo tells narcotics cop Beau Knapp’s Peter Jablonski his worries about becoming scapegoats for Ferguson and other countless incidents where black men and children have been senselessly killed. On this occasion, the killing truly was an accident, but the status of “accident” is changed when they make the active and corrupt decision to walk away.

Wrapped up in all of this is a commentary on modern race relations, a TV show made to coincide with the Black Lives Matter movement, and observe the state of law enforcement and the insidious corruption that spawns from a society that has allowed violent acts to be committed with little consequence.

So does it accomplish as much as it’s hoping to?
It takes a couple episodes, but yes, “Seven Seconds” ultimately gets there. The show is very clearly calling out police brutality and the uphill battle young black men have been born into when it comes to how they’re depicted and treated. Diversity isn’t the issue and neither is intent, but the execution is where it feels a touch tepid.

The tracking of Jablonski’s home life with his expecting wife, the exploration of a character’s abusive past to try and “justify” his actions, lends the series to feeling like it’s trying too hard to play middle man and not outright condemn the character who should by all accounts be depicted as the antagonist.

However, once “Seven Seconds” gets further into the season, the lines in the sand are drawn deeper, separating the characters who are fundamentally bad people from the ones who have had bumps in the road but are striving to do and be better people. They’re not all perfectly defined, but the characters who succeed the most are those in the latter party. It’s the moments where excuses for violent behaviour are called out for what it is — excuses, not justifications — where the show thrives. 

How engaging is the main plot?
Pretty gripping from the very start, though it does suffer like most Netflix shows from being spread too thin over too many hours. This is a series that very easily could’ve been eight episodes long and it would have been just as interesting with far less distractions. This is especially true in later episodes when half-baked plot points are introduced and character motives sporadically shift.

Do the characters make it better?
Without a doubt, and in particular KJ Harper (Clare-Hope Ashitey), Nadine (Nadia Alexander), Latrice (Regina Hall), Isaiah (Russel Horsnby) and Fish Rinaldi (Michael Mosley). Those core five are the ones that hold the lesser pieces of the series together. Hall, a tremendous talent, is given a near thankless role from the start playing the worrying, harried mother who’s devout with a strong belief in God and her family. However, Hall gives Latrice enormous grace and gravitas, grounding a storyline that halfway through the season veers too far off course. Similarly, Hornsby takes a character who could be unlikeable, but shines a light on his inner turmoil as a man who desperately spent his life trying to keep his family in line, to keep them safe, and in return grows to realize he’s failed to learn anything real about them. 

Alexander, following her breakout in this years “Blame,” continues to prove herself as an up and coming talent with a knack for sinking her teeth into each damaged teenage character she gets to embody. Nadine in part exists to help warm us to Fish’s character with no storylines directly designated to her, but her personal plight is just as affecting due to her age and part to play in the overall story.

That leaves Ashitey and Mosely, as KJ and Harper, equally the best and initially least promising aspect of the show.

Because goodness knows we need another “odd couple” detective duo….
They truly get a awful introduction, filled with enough cliches to drag out an audible sigh. This, I thought, was what the show was going to be about. Tired tropes, telling not showing, and a lot of characters gesturing wildly to convey how goddamn charming they are.

It’s still kind of true. The tropes are apparent, to the point that when a character says “I’m a bad person” after watching her make increasingly bad decisions you just kind of have to nod along, because of course this was a sentence that had to be said aloud in this show. But dammit to hell, we end up being charmed by them anyway. Ashitey and Mosley play off of one another wonderfully, building a dynamic that’s both prickly and compatible, allowing us to overcome just how quickly some of the gears had to shift to get KJ from point A to point B, or how familiar Harper’s story turns out.

It feels like you’re undecided on the show…
I am! It’s timely, but timid. Well acted, but frustratingly written. There’s poignancy in so many moments, but they tend to be accompanied by a big, loud scene that tells us everything we need to know without allowing the audience to discover it themselves. Every segment of the show goes on a touch too long, whether it be the cover up, the investigation or the subsequent the trial. Through it all, “Seven Seconds” can’t decide how much sympathy it wants to extend to our antagonists, and this ends up being far more distracting than anything important the show wants to try and portray. This is exemplified further in a later episode after a tragic, and ugly scene of needless violence transpires – mainly off screen.

It’s a frustrating watch, but one that captures your attention. The motives, the stories, the characters — they’re all strong outlines that needed a deft hand to depict them with the level of craft they deserved. Created by Veena Sud, the ambition to tackle these big and important subjects – and to condemn those who allow these tragedies to persist – is one of the highlights. You sense the anger powering later dialogue between characters and the characters commitment to the truth further endear us to them.

“Seven Seconds” tries to be so many things in a certain period of time while also attempting to tell a cohesive and tight storyline. It’s well acted, directed and timed show that, while never quite gaining a confident footing, still manages to be a worthy watch. [B-]

“Seven Seconds” debuts on Netflix on February 23rd.