Roush on Brotherhood, Dexter and Sopranos
Question: I religiously read your column and love every show you positively review. So earlier in the summer my husband and I checked out
Brotherhood on Showtime On Demand. Wow! We watched the whole first season within a couple of days and were so depressed there weren't more than 11 episodes. I know I will make
Sopranos fans mad by saying this, but I really believe this is a better show. The two shows seem very similar, but I really care about all the characters in this show, unlike on
The Sopranos, where I found a lot of the characters too harsh. Even though Jason Isaacs plays the bad brother involved with organized crime, I can't help but feel that for every bad thing he does, it is ultimately for some greater good, and I'm rooting for him. I'm currently watching one of my other favorite Showtime series,
Weeds, and I've noticed that they're really promoting
Dexter, but I really haven't seen anything about
Brotherhood. I also love
Dexter and know that both shows premiere Sept. 30, but why hasn't Showtime given
Brotherhood the same promotional boost? Do they believe in the show as much as
Dexter? Also, have you heard anything about the new season? And how many episodes will there be? I really can't wait for Sept. 30. The
Dexter/
Brotherhood combo is going to be an awesome two hours of TV!
— Sarah
Matt Roush: This terrific combo is the basis for my next Review column; look for it online and in the magazine very soon. I've seen the first four episodes of both shows, and they're brilliant.
Dexter is back for 12 episodes,
Brotherhood for 10. And while it may look like Showtime is favoring
Dexter over
Brotherhood, the network is only following the numbers.
Dexter was a breakthrough for Showtime last year, and it's much easier to promote (it's just a shame
Michael C. Hall was shut out at the Emmys); for Showtime to put
Brotherhood on right after
Dexter is a terrific show of faith.
Brotherhood got great reviews but not nearly as much buzz for whatever reason, so having a powerful lead-in like
Dexter is the best situation the show could possibly be in. Comparing it to
The Sopranos is risky, but
Brotherhood stands up, I think. This seems much more grounded in reality — the homes that Tommy and mother Rose live in
feel lived in — and while there's not quite as much humor to savor, it's not all serious. (One upcoming episode, in which Tommy's wife, Eileen, tries to cover her teenage daughter's fender-bender in Rose's stolen Geo, is actually pretty funny.) Jason Isaacs is exceptional this season, as his character struggles with serious mental aftershocks from the beating he took in the finale; there's a vulnerability beneath his toughness now. The real breakout performance, though, is Ethan Embry's as Declan, the cop whose emotional breakdown is often painful to watch.
Brotherhood is a gem waiting to be discovered.
