The Beauty of Small Town Mystryies
Back in 2012, now a decade ago, I fell in love with the subgenre of small town mystery. That year is when one of the best animated series of all time began airing, Gravity Falls. It was a science-fiction/comedy centered around two main characters in a strange town staying with their uncle for the summer. This show actually had a massive cast of recurring characters though, like too many to list here without having a headache. But I think this large cast of diverse characters is one of the great things about a small town story. You meet many more people, and interact with them more throughout these stories than other shows care to.
There are definitely many other series that I have discovered for myself over the years since. The specific ones I want to talk about in this article are Twin Peaks, Wayward Pines, and Castle Rock. Twin Peaks was created by the now cult-favorite film maker David Lynch. The series starts with a murder in the town of Twin Peaks, and centers around a detective trying to solve the mystery of who the killer is. It's a deeper rabbit hole than anyone could’ve imagined however, and unique imagery and characters pop up throughout the two seasons of the show. Sadly, a theme you’ll notice with all of these shows, is that they were cancelled or simply ended after only 2 seasons. Every one of them. Considering this show was one of the first popularized small town mysteries back in 1990, it might have set the blueprint I guess.
So it's definitely a shorter form of storytelling. I think there's something incredible about that, that these series are always short and sweet. They say their point, and that's clear enough. They don’t drag it out and make it repetitive, like a lot of ongoing series. Next up is Wayward Pines. This is a Fox series based on the trilogy of the same name by Blake Crouch. I read the books before watching the show, and I must say the books are definitely the more entertaining option. There seems to be a lot of filler in the show itself, and like I just went over, these stories are best short and sweet.
Wayward Pines is a story about a Secret Service agent investigating the disappearance of a past colleague in the small Idaho town of the same name. Then he realizes the residents won’t let him leave. This book series takes place in the pacific northwest, and I think that's a great thing about most of these stories mentioned too, for me personally. Gravity Falls takes place in Oregon, Wayward Pines takes place in Idaho, and Twin Peaks takes place in Washington.
Castle Rock is different though, in that it takes place in Stephen King’s home state of Maine. This is because it is based on many of his books that take place in that fictional town. Stephen King is well known for books like The Dead Zone, Needful Things, Cujo, The Body (Stand By Me), and The Dark Half, which all take place in Castle Rock, Maine. This is a Hulu Original series with a really intriguing first season. The second season is a little bit worse, but all together it's a great show, for fans of Stephen King or horror. It tells some unique stories about a town filled with murder and evil. The first season’s premise is about the town prison finding a random new inmate in an abandoned part of the prison who seems to have no idea who he is, or why he is there. As the town unravels the mystery of who he is, the town unravels with him.
These types of stories are known for suspense, twists, and overall interesting characters. However, they only come around once every few years sadly. Twin Peaks started in 1990, Gravity Falls came about in 2012, Wayward Pines premiered in 2015, and Castle Rock began airing in 2018. But, they’re far from being extinct, as a new one is going to be born this year, titled From. This will be an Epix original series (Netflix original for anyone outside of the U.S.) and although that aspect alone has me a little hesitant due to their lack of original content, I have reason to believe this one could be one of the best.
First of all, its produced by the executive producers of Lost, which despite some of the hate it get had a spectacular first three seasons revolving around mystery. It also has the Russo brothers producing it, who directed movies like Avengers: Endgame, and Avengers: Infinity War. I’m sure they’ll be lending a hand behind the scenes. It also just has a really interesting premise. Now I’ll admit, this is basically the same premise as the aforementioned Wayward Pines. “In a nightmarish town in middle America that traps everyone who enters, unwilling residents fight to stay alive and search for a way out. But they are plagued by the threats of the surrounding forest including terrifying nocturnal threats.”
I want to emphasize that from the stories mentioned above, the series Wayward Pines left the most to be desired once it was finished. It seemed like a big let down, considering the great premise. So, to see it done again with great people behind the camera and story, is such a treat. I want to advise anyone interested that this show premieres 2-20-2022, on Epix. Series of this kind usually get cancelled pretty quickly if there isn’t enough buzz about it, so I’m hoping to see this get some attention. Maybe it can be the first to break the trend, and survive for three seasons.