‘Will Trent’ an Uncommonly Interesting Protagonist Boosts ABC’s Procedural
Although not always empirically sound, ABC’s Will Trent quickly emerges as an above-average broadcast television procedural, even though it has the same structural trappings that often undermine it.
Will Trent is a middlebrow adaptation of popular lit. It has a distinct main character and leading performances. The show also offers a promising ensemble. Based on the first two episodes, it seems like it could appeal to the same audience as Netflix’s Lincoln Lawyer or Amazon’s Reacher.
The same strategy that gave us Lincoln Rhyme Hunt for the Bone Collector a few months back in 2020, Will Trent is based upon a long-running series by Karin Slaughter of Atlanta-set novels. Existing fans could probably have deduced this fact with a more vivid title. The current title is certainly the dullest, but it doesn’t do justice to Trent, an adorable quirky and interestingly wounded special agent with Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Will (Ramon Rodriguez), is an archetypal Holmesian investigator who sees the world in a different way. Will’s secret talents observational and not-by-the-book, because Will is dyslexic, were developed during a difficult childhood in Atlanta foster care and other group homes.
Liz Heldens, Daniel T. Thomsen and Daniel T. Thomsen adapted the series. The series begins with Will facing backlash for his role in coordinating a major investigation into police corruption. Will finds himself in constant contact with people who believe he is a rat or a snitch because the GBI shares an office building with APD. This becomes even more difficult when he is called into a major case that requires cooperation from all departments.
