slides: Backstrom: Another TV Series Set in Portland

Monday, February 09, 2015

Briauna Skye McKizzie, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Rainn Wilson

Photo Credit: imdb.com (image cropped) Starring Rainn Wilson this ten episode series will air on Thursday nights on the FOX network.

From the folks who gave you Bones, Backstrom is a new crime comedy drama television series that is set in Portland, Oregon but filmed in British Columbia.

It's not the first show that this has happened to (see slideshow below) and likely not the last.

Starring Rainn Wilson and Genevieve Angelson, this series airs on Thursday nights on the FOX network.

The show, based off of Leif G. W. Persson’s The Bäckström Series, tells the story of a Portland Police Bureau detective named Everett Backstrom.

Even though the original story’s set in Sweden and filmed in British Columbia, Backstrom’s first episode made sure to reference several Portland specific details.

The detectives made their way down streets like Fremont and Hawthorne, and the characters even mentioned Portland facts, like our blatant love of strippers, to prove that its researchers had really done their homework.

Like most procedural detective shows, each episode features a new case displaying both Backstrom’s inaptitude for being sympathetic to those around him and his relentless ability at “cracking” the case.

However, unlike other popular often humorous detective shows like Bones and Castle, Backstrom has received mixed and often negative reviews according to Rotten Tomatoes.

In fact, the first couple episodes may leave some viewers feeling like Backstrom’s character isn’t all too different from the brilliant yet unpleasant personalities like BBC’s Sherlock and everyone’s favorite doctor, House.

Still, the cast and location of Backstrom may be enough to keep viewers coming back for more.

Backstrom airs Thursday nights at 9/8c on the Fox Network.

Homepage photo credit: imdb.com