The murder mystery genre has had a resurgence in the last few years with many refreshing takes within the genre that has left viewers wanting more. Death and Other Details looks to build on the success of such shows as Only Murders in the Building.
Taking place on a cruise ship with a large cast made up of family and co-workers, Death and Other Details begins on what looks like a promising voyage. Two wealthy families, The Colliers and The Chuns sail upon the ship in order to broker a large business deal. Before the deal can be brokered, a relatively unknown associate to the group is murdered and it is up to "the World's Greatest Detective" Rufus Cotesworth (played by Mandy Patinkin) to solve the case. Adopted daughter to the Colliers, Imogene Scott (Violett Beane) has been close with Rufus since the death of her mother eighteen years ago and has since been something of an assistant. Rufus and Imogene must work together to solve this cruise ship murder and uncover who is responsible before someone else potentially dies.
The music and score are truly engaging and work so well with the story. The Intro score and visuals are sure to please any white Lotus fan as it captures that same magic. Its visuals, cinematography and coloring is also very engaging as we explore the very large vessel and all of its mysteries.
The Series boasts an extremely large cast of characters that is very difficult to keep track of in the first few episodes. This is a double edged sword which hurts the series because with so many characters it must create stories for each of them but that in turn, negatively affects the series overall and leaves us with a very convoluted first few episodes. The series focuses too much on twists and turns and sub plots that it forgets to develop its characters and leaves many of them bland and forgettable.
As the series progresses, it does improve but no piece of content should take four - six hours for you to begin to like its characters but that is not at the fault of its cast as they all are talented actors but are just not provided enough for their character to truly shine. Every episode also features a flashback sequence that gives us backstory into the past of our characters ala Lost. My favorite episode of the series so far is episode 7 because it is much a much more contained, focused and character driven episode as Imogene and Rufus dig into the past for clues.
I was able to watch the first eight episodes of Death and Other Details with the finale two episodes left. I am intrigued to see how the story ends but that is because I do not like leaving things unfinished.
The first two episodes of Death and Other Details are available on Disney Plus January 16.
3/5
Review by: Stefano Bove