Less than a week after the GRIMM season finale, Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt, the creators of NBC’s Friday night hit, sat down and talked with EW.com to preview the sophomore season of the fantasy drama. I will avoid any spoilers because the finale is still fresh, so check out the interview here if you want some information about the woman in black, Hank’s journey in season 2, and vague plans of the future. Information on Captain Renard is a must next year, and hopefully they know it.

“Woman in Black”

Air Date: 5/18/2012

This is more like it.

Following last week’s run in with Monroe and bigfoot, Hank wakes up in sweat and terror, quick to draw his gun, putting us all on notice for this now promising show’s finale. Poor dude. While Hank suffers through what he thinks are delusional visions, Nick and Monroe discuss their friend’s fragile mental state and potential psychosis in a rather blasé manner (it’s your best friend and partner for god sake Nick, come clean already). The two are being watched by a mustachioed private investigator type – Nathaniel Adams (Scott Michael Morgan) – who has been following Nick, Monroe, Hank and Captain Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz) for a while, judging by his photograph ridden hotel room. He makes a call and, after seeing the guy as merely a headshot for a few episodes, Akira Kimura (Brian Tee) makes his grand appearance.

Akira is interested in the information that Adams has uncovered. Adams believes that one of them possesses the three gold coins (the coins of Zakynthos that gives its keeper the power to influence others), and loses his life once he’s told Kimura everything. Kimura is a schakal (jackal) too, like the rest of Nick’s parents’ murderers (and, you know, Hitler). Kimura leaves and a Woman in Black (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) enters. She hopes you aren’t mistaking her from someone in the Daniel Radcliffe movie, rolls over Adams’ body, and examines it.

Meanwhile, a witch is a brewin’. Turns out, Adalind (Claire Coffee, too devious to be gone forever), hexenbiest no more, can still make a potion. She mixes milk with some nefarious looking liquid, and then feeds the concoction to her cat, Majique (cute). Later, she pays a visit to Juliette, expressing concern for her sick and sluggish cat. When Juliette examines the cat, Majique lashes out and scratches her hand. She decides to keep the cat overnight for tests. Something tells me the damage is done, and it doesn’t assuage my concerns when the demon kitty’s eyes turn jet black.

Nick and company find Adams’ cameras and equipment. When they download his photos, they finally discover that he was following them. Creepy. Nick assigns squad cars to their houses (they prove to be ineffectual protection, comically so) and tries to contact the Captain to warn him. Too late, as Akira has already taken care of his maid, and knocks him out.

While the mysterious Captain gets interrogated about the location of the coins, Nick returns home to a frisky Juliette. All foreplay stops when Nick notices the bandage on her hand, and when he finds out that Adalind was involved, he tries to get her to the hospital. Juliette refuses unless he tells her the truth, and Nick has to make a decision, the decision we’ve been waiting all season for. David Giuntoli (Nick) delivers some of his best work of the year here, getting a chance to play something else than just the same exasperated, straight lead man.

I’ll refrain from delving any further into the episode and the spoilers therein, but suffice it to say, this episode (along with “Three Coins in a Fuchsbau”) this is probably the strongest hour of the show yet. The Woman in Black is seen flitting around the fringe of the investigation at every turn, and her identity and intentions promise for exciting developments next year. It’s good to know that we haven’t seen the last of Adalind, and a welcome sight to see Rosalee (Bree Turner) again, even for just a moment. While the GRIMM writers pull off a couple feats of misdirection (or false starts) that were frustrating to those who want to see progress, this finale highlights how far the show has come since its inception. GRIMM has embraced its world and gone knee deep into its mythology to the delight of its viewers. Here’s hoping it continues the trend in the fall.

The trailer, courtesy of EW.com, is embedded below for your enjoyment. Will you be tuning in?

NBC’s upcoming TV series adapted from Thomas Harris’ HANNIBAL novels is quickly becoming one of the most anticipated new shows of the fall season. And because of that, Shock Till You Drop has the down low on an interview with the series’ star, Hugh Dancy (who will play FBI agent Will Graham). He’s the only main character hired, they haven’t even found their Hannibal yet, but that hasn’t stopped NBC from already ordering 12 episodes. The show is being created with Bryan Fuller (PUSHING DAISIES, MOCKINGBIRD LANE), and David Slade (30 DAYS OF NIGHT) has been tabbed to direct the pilot.  Dancy sounds excited and thrilled by the series, but then again, he’s paid to. We’ll see in the coming months. It all depends on who they hire Hannibal, in my mind.

Well, if ALCATRAZ won’t return, we will still have the same amount of JJ Abrams produced and created shows on television this fall. Joining FRINGE will be NBC’s REVOLUTION, the first big pick up of the upcoming season. The show, co-produced by Eric Kripke (SUPERNATURAL), is described as an action drama following a group of characters struggling to survive in a world where all energies no longer exist. I think, technically, that’d mean everyone would be dead, but I’m always excited for another supernatural sci-fi slice of Abrams and Bad Robot. According to Sci-Fi Stream, Jon Favreau directed the pilot entitled “Blackout,” a title that reminds me of Flash Forward and last Friday night. The ensemble stars Billy Burke (TWILIGHT) and Giancarlo Esposito (BREAKING BAD, ONCE UPON A TIME).

“Happily Ever Aftermath”

Air Date: 5/4/2012

Winding down on its first season, GRIMM continues its up and down pace with an uneven episode. We open on a few pictures of a seemingly happy couple, the images of a “happily ever after,” and then an anonymous man shoots himself. The dichotomy there is great. Then we cut to Arthur, the man from the wedding photos, frantically calling Spencer, because his finances are now frozen, as he invested them all in his now deceased man’s business. Whoops. He returns to find his beautiful blonde wife Lucinda fresh from a shopping spree, and showing him her new dress and underwear to prove it. Good deflection.

Arthur, along with Spencer, who is Lucinda’s godfather and an old friend of her dead father (not to be confused with the dead businessman pre-credits) visit Lucinda’s stepmother Mavis, a witch straight from Cinderella (like most of this episode). But I don’t blame her for refusing to give Arthur money when he asks for it. That night, Mavis wakes up hearing something under her bed. It’s a bat like creature that resembles something from TALES FROM THE CRYPT. The monster chases after her and unleashes a bloodcurdling scream that shatters the chandelier and sends the step mother from the balcony to her death.

Nick has nightmares about the death of his parents and the reapers that were involved, that he recently killed in a rather badass manner for a guy new to the job and green on training. Juliette plays the perfect, concerned girlfriend, and investigates the car accident that killed his parents for him. You’d think a cop with parent issues would have done this already, but Juliette takes charge and gets in contact with the sheriff in charge of the investigation, which turned out to be a homicide and had four suspects. Three of which have already been dealt with…but the fourth is a mystery man, essentially an “insert villain here” moment. Nick is kind of grateful slash perturbed by the news, maybe because he’s wondering why he didn’t make that phone call years ago.

Hank and Nick arrive on scene to see the mess, and immediately have Spencer, Arthur and Lucinda in their sights as possible subjects due to the financial uncertainty their family was under. Mavis had gotten Lucinda’s father estate upon his death, and left it all to her daughters, Tiffany and Taylor (the rotten or not so rotten stepsisters). GRIMM tackles a rather large web of new guest characters in this episode, and the convoluted nature of the money, the estates and the relationships are hard (but nonconsequential) to follow except under the umbrella of Cinderella. Through the interview Nick discovers that Spencer is a bat like wesen.  In his side investigation with Munroe, they discover that he is a murcielago, a bat out of hell with a life altering scream. Bingo. But not so fast, as the happily ever after between Arthur and Lucinda is proven a façade after all in the course of an increasingly bloodier and predictable investigation.

While it’s a fun twist on the Cinderalla story, for whatever reason I was nonplussed by the episode. The climax was forced, you continue to wonder how Hank and the rest of the police force don’t question all the bizarre deaths and artifacts that they find on site and where Nick seems to disappear to right in the middle of the action, and the investigation into Nick’s parents death seemed more of a distraction than a fairly important developing subplot that it should have been. I want somebody to find out Nick’s secret, or for Munroe to spill the beans or to get caught in an investigation because of Nick, or for some other conflict to occur at work that threatens Hank and Nick’s friendship, or to find out more about the network of wesen because the hierarchy in Portland and beyond is the most interesting part. But I guess I’ll have to settle for writing reviews rather than writing the show.

“Cat and Mouse”

Air Date: 4/20/12

Along with ONCE UPON A TIME, GRIMM was heralded as another harbinger for the fairy tale boom to come. But, after breezing through the first seventeen episodes in short order to catch up, I found that that’s a misnomer. Yes, this series, set in Portland, Oregon (great to have a show set there besides PORTLANDIA), revolves around Detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli), a descendant of the Grimm family (the brothers that wrote them books), who has the ability to see if someone is really a supernatural creature, or a Wesen (pronounced vessen), and is tasked with hunting them down. He is referred to as a “grimm” by these very creatures. But he doesn’t stumble upon any fairy tale characters or premises like in OUAT, he merely finds that there’s a lot of bad guys muddying up his case load that are really furry beasts. While wholly mediocre for the first twelve or so episodes, Grimm, created by Stephen Carpenter, David Greenwalt (ANGEL) and Jim Kouf (ANGEL, GHOST WHISPERER), has reached a groove the past month or so, focusing more on the serialized world of these Wesen, rather than a mostly boring critter of the week scenario.

His oblivious partner on the force and best friend is the fun Hank Griffin (PLAYMAKERS’ Russell Hornsby), whereas Munroe (the master of creepy and disturbed guest spot appearance getting a long deserved break, PRISON BREAK’s Silas Weir Mitchell) is his partner on the Grimm side of things. Munroe is a bluebodden, a Germanglish fumbling of “big bad wolf,” an awkward and lonely reformed vegetarian who just wants a friend, even if that friend routinely uses him for his expertise on the supernatural world he’s just recently stumbled upon. Throw in the plucky Sergeant Lee (Reggie Lee) for more humor and you have a fairly enjoyable supporting cast, especially with the addition of Munroe’s love interest and fuchsbau (or fox), Rosalee Calvert (the vulnerable Bree Turner).

All the while, Nick is trying to balance this burgeoning alter ego with the love of his life, Juliette (QUARTERLIFE’s Bitsie Tulloch), who’s been kidnapped, attacked and in danger enough times to switch zip codes, if not countries. At least she was enlightened enough to refuse Nick’s wedding proposal. After this refusal, Nick has gone deeper into the fold, and at the beginning of this week’s episode, is seen in his Aunt’s trailer, writing up descriptions of the monsters he’s encountered, and investigating the key that Claire gave him before her death (she was a Grimm before him).

We cut to D.C., then to St. Louis, and finally to Portland, where a “cat and mouse” game is being played by two creatures (though neither is a cat or a mouse). The one fleeing is tracked down outside of a bus depot and is shot, but still eludes his captor. The shooter is Edgar Waltz (FRINGE’s Sebastian Roche), who visits Nick’s evil (unbeknownst to him) police chief at his home, Captain Sean Renard (Sasha Roiz of CAPRICA). Edgar reveals himself as a hunter for the Verrat, essentially an all-powerful organization tasked with governing the seven Wesen houses and maintaining order in the world. He also demands progress on finding the key. Sean is nonplussed, and we continue to wonder what his role is in this world, or what animal he is, or if he may be something entirely different (some Grimm foil?), since he routinely blows off/kills/maims seemingly superior or powerful people.

Rosalee is attacked at her brother’s spice shop by the fugitive. But hey, false alarm. Turns out that not only do they know each other, they used to bump uglies (they’re both fuchsbau). The runaway is Ian Harmon (LOST’s Neil Hopkins), a prominent member of the resistance movement against the Verrat. He was looking for Rosalee’s brother to create a passport to escape. Since Freddy’s dead, Rosalee vows to help Ian, and brings Munroe into the fold. Munroe’s slightly perturbed at the appearance of a sexual rival, but he’s the nicest human (or monster), and convinces Ian that they should bring Nick into help.

Foxy love

Of course, Nick is investigating the bus shooting, because he and Hank are the only detectives in town, and thinks Ian’s a suspect.

Edgar follows Ian’s trail, killing a snake-like (a viewer needs to bring a Grimm encyclopedia to figure out what these animals are, because the flashes of their animal side are rarely obvious) Wesen in a bar to find out who makes passports, and frames Ian for the killing to draw him out.

Nick, Edgar and Ian’s paths converge upon Reginald, a mouse (or Mauhertz) at a camera shop, who specializes in making passports and making difficult decisions about his family in the face of death. The result is a pretty solid episode with a good pay off. We learn what the Verrat are, what they are responsible for (pretty much every bad thing in history) and that the ripples between the resistance and the Verrat explain the turmoil of today’s world (presumably, they’re to blame for rising gas prices).

I’ve had many problems with GRIMM since picking it up. From the tacky and mostly unrecognizable animal effects (some are cool, like the dragon and snakes, but you gotta be able to do better with Munroe’s bluebodden, because he’s the main Wesen), to the sometimes too bland lead Nick, who with, no explanation at all, can beat everyone up without any powers to speak of, and finally, the too perfect and understanding Juliette (I almost wanted Nick to go for the ill-fated villainous witch Adalind, played with juicy relish by Claire Coffee, before Hank ate her cookies). At first I thought the beginner German lessons were ridiculous, but the names of the beasts have added much to the show’s unique mythology, and seeing as how the Brothers Grimm origins are Germanic, it at least makes sense, even if it makes it difficult to follow (I need a pokedex).

When it first started, I thought GRIMM was in danger of going the way of ALCATRAZ, a show that wasted an intriguing set up by dwelling too much on the boring, same ole police procedural elements. But the stakes have steadily risen as the show has progressed, with a growing stable of more interesting animals and cases that have gotten more gruesome as the show’s progressed. You can’t say GRIMM is afraid to go there. For an NBC show, they have a strange fondness for severed tongues and mangled bodies, and once the show got on solid footing, has increased the breadth and depth of the world that Nick finds himself in.

For now, I’m in.

Bryan Fuller, creator of PUSHING DAISIES and the upcoming reimagination of THE MUNSTERS (MOCKINGBIRD LANE), is a busy guy. He also is shepherding an adaptation of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter novels, but is fashioning a prequel to a prequel (RED DRAGON) in TV drama form. The show, starring Hugh Dancy as the lead investigator Will Graham, sounds like it’ll be a deliberately slow burn, seeing as he pitched the show with seven seasons in mind. For me though, because we all know the story, or at least the end game, it’ll very much depend on who they cast as Lecter to catch our interest.

Series synopsis (courtesy NBC):
“Portland detective Nick Burkhardt has seen some gruesome crime scenes, but nothing prepares him for the strange visions he begins seeing: seemingly regular people momentarily transforming into hideous monsters. A visit from his only living relative reveals the truth. Nick has inherited the ability to see supernatural creatures, and as a “Grimm,” he is tasked with keeping the balance between mankind and the mythological. A reformed “Big Bad Wolf” becomes his greatest (and also reluctant) ally and confidant. It’s not long before his work as a policeman leads Nick to the criminals he once thought were only found in fairy tales.”

The top monster is called a Lausenschlange, a snake creature, complete with fangs and forked tongue, that kills by squeezing its victims like a boa. The bottom is a Mauzhertz, quite clearly a man-mouse hybrid.

(Images courtesy NBC, TVLine)