Grade: B+
Battleground is the first foray into an original scripted series by
Hulu & while it seems like a basic documentary style program & undoubtedly starts off that way it ends on a very fresh note. With documentary style shows being done to hell & starting to make little sense it is great to see series like
The River &
Battleground adding a little risk and difference to the genre. The series follows a the Senate election campaign for an somewhat underdog candidate in Wisconsin. Of course the series is more about the characters than who wins the election but the added twist the series sets up is what does the outcome of this election hold for future of these characters.
Its pretty clear that a genre is overdone when a show like
Modern Family, a at one time a seemingly very funny comedy, decides to also rely on a documentary style but somehow outside of the interviews have no involvement with the cameras. One episode is spent trying to recapture a moment that is caught on the documentary cams for whatever sake. At the same time the best documentary style show on air,
Parks & Recreations, is also focusing its season story arc on an election. What helps
Battleground is its unique take. What seems like a pretty ok documentary style series really drops a bomb in its last five minutes when we see that not only are the interviews set as follow ups & not asides during the action but that the lives of our characters have not all ended on happy notes.
Of course the rest of the show works works well enough that the real intrigue is worth waiting for. What
Battleground can & hopefully will do is set itself up as a series where both parts of the story are equally compelling. Right now the series isn’t that special outside of its last five minutes but it has the promise to be.
Hulu has landed on something special & with the way the website already works it will be a delight to see where the series heads.
