There’s no shortage of crime dramas with moody vibes, a complicated main character, and a strange mystery with an unexpected solution, yet even in the crowded detective show genre, “The Sinner” stands out. Starring Bill Pullman, “The Sinner” ran for four seasons on USA Network from 2017 to 2021, but it’s currently streaming on Netflix. If you missed it back then, now’s the time to check it out.
All four seasons of “The Sinner” are good, but the first one is clearly the best. Based on a 1999 book of the same name by German author Petra Hammesfahr, the season follows a married mother named Cora Tannetti (Jessica Biel) who suddenly and seemingly inexplicably snaps and stabs a man to death while at a lake in upstate New York. Pullman plays Harry Ambrose, a gruff-but-insightful detective who can’t help but wonder if this random murder wasn’t so random.
As Ambrose digs into Cora’s past, especially her childhood being raised by religious zealots, secrets are revealed, and dark, unexpected connections emerge that dramatically change the nature of the murder. “The Sinner” is a very engrossing mystery that’s thrillingly spooky and unsettling at times, featuring great performances from Biel, Pullman, and Christopher Abbott as Cora’s husband. Perhaps the best endorsement one can give for “The Sinner” Season 1 is that it sticks the landing. While many crime shows have a confusing or unrewarding denouement after a great season, “The Sinner” season finale is satisfying — and shocking — to the last.
The next three seasons of The Sinner are all worthwhile, too
When “The Sinner” premiered, USA Network intended for it to be a one-off limited series, and indeed, star Jessica Biel received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. However, following the show’s critical and ratings success, it returned as an ongoing series. Bill Pullman’s Harry Ambrose was the only character to return for the next three seasons, and each followed him as he found himself involved in another unusual mystery involving characters with twisted pasts.
Season 2 stars Carrie Coon as a member of a cult commune in upstate New York who claims to be the mother of a young boy accused of poisoning a couple that authorities initially believed were his parents. Season 3 takes place closer to Ambrose’s home, as instead of being called to solve a murder, he’s called to the scene of a fatal car crash. Matt Bomer and Chris Messina play estranged college friends who reconnect only for Messina’s character to die in the accident. But was it an accident, or is Ambrose unknowingly facing greater danger than he’s expecting? The fourth and final season has Harry on vacation on an island off the coast of Maine when he witnesses a young woman (Alice Kremelberg) seemingly commit suicide by walking off a cliff. It turns out that this insular fishing community harbors dark secrets.
Though the last three seasons aren’t quite as good as the first one, they’re all still immensely satisfying mystery yarns. Genre fans shouldn’t miss “The Sinner.”
