There are a lot of procedurals and true crime shows out there, Cloo’s new series, Killer Instinct [Saturdays, 9/8C] comes at the true crime genre from a fresh angle. Its thirteen episode season will be built on cases on which former FBI profiler Mark Safarik worked – and he hosts the series.
Killer Instinct premieres with A Killer Among Us, a case in which Seattle businessman Steven Long murdered his wife Elvira – then reported her missing to cover up her disappearance. The episode is a mix of interviews and dramatic re-creations – the interviews shot sharp and focused; the re-creations given a hazy, almost eerie quality. To add to the immediacy of each episode, Safarik travels to the locations described, so we can see them as they are now.
In the case of Steven Long, we learn that original investigator Detective Jerry Johnson, of the Bellvue Police Department, knew, from a peculiar answer to a standard question, that Long had killed his wife – but that, with no body and Long’s spotless record, there was no way to prove it.
Additional insights are provided by former King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Keefe, as investigators try to build up pressure on Long by various intriguing tactics – including the posting of what seem like standard ‘missing persons’ posters asking people in the area for their help.
Safarik relates how knowing that Long was a computer guy who had worked for IBM before leaving to start up his own business gave him insight into how the killer’s thought processes worked – and how he instructed on-scene investigators to use time-tested FBI techniques tweaked to use Long’s intelligence against him. Instead of a show glorying in violence, we get a show that plays out more like a chess match between smart, cagey criminals and the man who gets inside their heads to solve their crimes.
Although Killer Instinct follows a familiar format, in terms of presentation at least, keying its cases to the profiler who worked them gives the show a unique presence. Technically, it works pretty well – the balance between the talking heads, the re-creations and the scenes of Safarik at various key locations gives the show an immediacy that adds impact.
Only the unctuous narrator [Troy Hall] seems lifted from every other true crime series out there. Better to have had Safarik, who has a distinctive voice and delivery handle all the narrative work.
It may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but Killer Instinct is different enough to warrant checking out – and if true crime is of special interest to you, it could become your favorite new show.
Final Grade: B