Will Trent is a promising addition to ABC's roster of ubiquitous procedurals
Ramón Rodríguez brings a lighter touch to the title role of Will Trent, the network's latest crime drama

There are three certainties in life for regular TV viewers: death, taxes, and crime dramas. Attitudes about policing and law enforcement have evolved over the years, but the central concept of working as a unit to bring the worst parts of humanity to justice is a tale as old as time. Judging by the procedural nature of today’s network TV landscape, this idea is unlikely to ever dissipate. Look no further than ABC ringing in the new year with Will Trent, which desperately tries to break its idiosyncratic lead out of the confines of an overcrowded genre.
Based on Karin Slaughter’s bestselling book series of the same name, Will Trent follows the titular protagonist who, despite being abandoned at birth and enduring a harsh childhood in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system, has become the special agent with the highest clearance rate at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Will, played by a ravishing Ramón Rodríguez, is severely dyslexic but has an uncanny ability to deconstruct crime scenes down to the most minute details. Oh, and he’s always dressed to the nines in a three-piece suit—the outfit acts as physical and emotional armor from the personal and professional horrors he has to confront daily. At times, the character brings to mind a more serious but equally fastidious Adrian Monk, the beloved detective that Tony Shalhoub played for eight seasons on USA’s Monk.
Written by Liz Heldens and Dan Thomsen, the ABC drama’s pilot effectively establishes a unique visual language that Will uses to “read” crime scenes and introduces the leading players working alongside him. His investigation into a police corruption case has left him with the words “RAT,” “SNITCH” and “TRAITOR” emblazoned on the side of his vintage Porsche Targa. Needless to say, he isn’t exactly in good standing with officers of the Atlanta Police Department.
Will’s colleagues include Amanda Wagner (The Wire’s Sonja Sohn), the ball-busting head of the GBI who has a mysterious soft spot for him; Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson), Will’s begrudging partner after his corruption investigation brought down her mother; Michael Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin), a homicide detective whose marriage is hanging on by a thread; and Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen), an APD detective who grew up in the same foster home as Will, leading them to become mutually destructive, on-again-off-again lovers. Angie is the supporting player with the most to work with in the first two episodes watched for review, while the rest fall into common archetypes seen in procedurals. (In a guest-starring role, Jennifer Morrison gives a particularly devastating performance as the mother of a missing teenager).