Long Bright River Season 1 (Complete) | TV Series

Mickey Fitzpatrick hunts a killer in opioid-ravaged Philadelphia, tied to her missing sister’s fate.

Review

Long Bright River Season 1 is an eight-episode crime drama that aims high but lands in murky waters, anchored by Amanda Seyfried’s raw turn as Mickey Fitzpatrick, a Philadelphia beat cop patrolling Kensington’s drug-torn streets. Adapted from Liz Moore’s bestselling novel, the series follows Mickey’s obsessive quest to solve a string of murders—initially pegged as overdoses—while searching for her addict sister, Kacey (Ashleigh Cummings). Seyfried shines, channeling a mix of guilt, grit, and desperation, her face a roadmap of a life shaped by loss and duty. Nicholas Pinnock’s Truman, her ex-partner, adds quiet heft, and the ensemble (Callum Vinson as her son Thomas, John Doman as gruff G-Pop) fills out a vivid, if grim, world.

The show’s strength lies in its empathetic lens on addiction and poverty—Kensington feels alive, its despair palpable—but it stumbles with bloat. At eight hours, it’s a slog; flashbacks to Mickey’s past (1990s-2010s) confuse more than clarify, and twists—like a red truck stalker—feel contrived. Posts on X call it slow and overhyped, echoing a 69% Rotten Tomatoes score that praises Seyfried but flags pacing. Visually moody (sometimes too dark, per X gripes), it’s a “prestige-ural” that tries to out-Mare Mare of Easttown but lacks the punch. It’s compelling for fans of gritty cop tales, yet its ambition to deconstruct policing and sisterhood gets lost in the runtime.