With every new season of television, there are attempts to translate British television shows for American audiences. While some attempts are more successful than others, very rarely do the shows have the same actor playing the lead characters as is the case for Gracepoint and Broadchurch. This twist is just one factor that makes the Fox’s adaption of Broadchurch different from series adaptations that have been seen before.
The premise of both Gracepoint and Broadchurch is the investigation of a boy’s murder in a small seaside town. In both versions, Tennant is the enigmatic detective who comes into the town to solve the case with the help of a local detective. Although Tennant remains the star of both shows, his name has been changed from Alec Hardy in Broadchurch to Emmett Carver in Gracepoint as reported by USA Today. Conversely, although the name of the local detective in both shows is Ellie Miller, in Gracepoint she is played by actress Anna Gunn, of Breaking Bad fame.
Tennant has stated that it is this change of cast and excellent writing that makes the show feel different from Broadchurch stating according to the New York Daily News that, “The two shows feel very different to me because of everyone around me…The spine is the same, but the flesh on the bones feels very different."
Indeed, though the first couple episodes of Gracepoint are very similar to those of Broadchurch, USA reports that according to executive producer Dan Futterman, “By the third and fourth episodes, you see very great detours."
Check out the trailer for Gracepoint below:
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com