Rowling’s detective series arrives
Cinemax imports the British detective miniseries “C.B. Strike” (10 p.m., TV-MA), based on a series of crime novels by Robert Galbraith.
Who is he? In a move right out of “Undercover Boss: Celebrity Edition,” best-selling “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling wrote the novels under the Galbraith pen name. Tonight’s first episode is based on the first book in the series, “The Cuckoo’s Calling.” Despite a limited press run, the novel was praised by critics as a dazzling debut. Later, a curious journalist did a literary analysis and concluded that Galbraith was Rowling. Sales increased from fewer than 1,500 copies to hundreds of thousands.
Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke) offers a 21st-century variation on the troubled detective, a man whose physical limitations and psychological problems become essential to his deductive powers. The estranged son of a world-famous rock star, Strike is also a combat veteran who lost a leg in Afghanistan. As the action begins, he’s clearly hung over and barely able to pay the rent on his shabby office, located on Denmark Street, long known for its central place in London’s music scene, a fact immortalized on “Denmark Street,” a 1970s song by The Kinks.
Two arrivals save Strike from eviction. A temp agency sends the perky and improbably gorgeous office assistant Robin (Holliday Grainger, “The Borgias”), who puts his house in order. Client John Bristow (Leo Bill, “Taboo”) comes soon after, trailing money and looking for help proving that his supermodel half-sister’s (Elarica Johnson) death was murder and not suicide.
We’ve already seen the woman’s last minutes, presented like an overproduced fashion shoot, followed by her mysterious descent from her stylish apartment.
Just why does Strike take the case? Is it Bristow’s retainer? Or the fact that Bristow’s powerful father warns him to stay away?
“Strike” is dark and atmospheric but slow to provide personal information. It’s rather British that way. Why does Strike talk to his prosthetic leg every time he takes it off? Why does Robin stick around? Does she fancy Strike? Or is she inspired by the fact that her posh boyfriend condescends to her new boss?
To find out, you’ll have to watch parts two and three of “The Cuckoo’s Calling.” Four more “Strike” episodes follow, adapted from the second and third books in Galbraith’s series.
This is not the first non-“Potter” Rowling effort adapted for television. In 2015, HBO aired the BBC-produced miniseries adaptation of her novel “The Casual Vacancy,” a gritty look at British class politics, located very far from Hogwarts.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
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› “Phenoms” (9 p.m., Fox) profiles the world’s best goalkeepers.
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› An NFL star appears on “Undercover Boss: Celebrity Edition” (8 p.m., CBS).
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› Stella and Wes struggle on “Life Sentence” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
› “Dateline” (10 p.m., NBC).
› “20/20” (10 p.m., ABC). Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin. tvguy@gmail.com.