Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
As copious hours of crime dramas have cemented in my mind, horrific criminal schemes and mass murders can occur everywhere. From Happy Valley to Breaking Bad, that is television fact. However, when it comes to crime in the South, pop culture seems to get a bit more simplistic.
Like with most fictional Hollywood settings, elaborate crimes are really only allowed to exist in New York and LA. If you’re lucky, you can find a could of shows like Bloodline and CSI: Miami throw Florida into the mix. This has changed a bit in recent years. Breaking Bad and Fargo introduced us to desolate, flyover states with trigger happy protagonists desperate for drugs and easy money. However, in these shows the American South is often portrayed as a place filled with gullible people who are the perpetual victims big city protagonists. That’s part of the reason why I enjoy Ozark so very much.
There are three big reasons why I adore the new Netflix drama. But when you get past Laura Linney’s stellar performance as the frazzled, possum-swinging Wendy and Marty’s (Jason Bateman) insistence on telling everyone he’s laundering money every other episode, it’s the show’s portrayal of the South that makes me smile. Though Missouri is technically a center state, I’ve always understood it to be a state accepted as culturally part of the South. Ozark stands as a sort of cheeky inverse of Hollywood trends. Marty originally pitches cleaning up money on the Missouri coast because he thinks it will be easy money, partially because of tourists, partially because of dumb and wholesome locals. Instead, what he stumbles into is several crime systems that are just as sophisticated as the one he left in Chicago. In this way, Ozark somewhat transforms into a criminal comedy during its first episodes. No matter how enticing Marty makes his account management services seem, no one trusts him, and many see right through him. It’s great.
Of course, Ozark is far from the first show to dive into the haunting gothic tones of crime in the South. True Detective, arguably one of the best dramas limited series of all time, took place in Louisiana and fully embraced these tones. Likewise, cartel-focused shows like Narcos and Queen of the South have dabbled in portraying crime in Texas, and American Horror Story: Coven practically made the South into its own character. But there’s still something special about Ozark’s portrayal of Southern crime. What starts as a secondary threat quickly transitions into the Marty and Wendy’s main concern. The Langmores may start off as a minor frustration, but Ruth (Julia Garner) quickly becomes one of Marty’s closest allies and greatest foes. That’s nothing to say of the disturbingly cutthroat Snells (Peter Mullan and Lisa Emery) who end the series on its most disturbing note. Ozark’s Southern foes are vicious, and they’re always unapologetic.
I don’t like these portrayals because I think that the South is better at crime than the rest of the country or because I want more shows in creepy, small towns (though I certainly wouldn’t complain about that). What I love most about crime dramas is their vulnerability. These shows are always packed with nefarious characters who are always darkly interesting, but in order for a good crime drama to really work, it has to sell the audience on the idea that this could happen anywhere. Walter White (Bryan Cranston) wasn’t compelling because he ruled at making meth. It was because he was everyone’s forgettable chemistry teacher. Narcos didn’t start out with Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura) as the ruthless and manipulative drug kingpin he would become. He started as a poor kid who was struggling in the middle of Colombia. The point of these shows is often that people can always be corrupt and horrible crimes can happen anywhere, even in your backyard. That point is kind of cheapened when it’s told through shows that are only set in three states.
In the real world, everyone is capable of evil. Every city has been the center of horrific crimes that make your stomach turn when you read about them. That’s what I want my crime dramas to reflect. Whether you’re living in LA or the Ozark, people can be terrifyingly, unapologetically evil.
