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Stumptown series premiere recap: Forget It Dex, It’s Stumptown

By Dharmesh Sahu

STUMPTOWN - "Forget it Dex, It's Stumptown." - Dex Parios - a strong, assertive and sharp-witted army veteran with a complicated love life, gambling debt and a brother to take care of - works as a PI in Portland, Oregon. With only herself to rely on, she solves other people's messes with a blind eye toward her own, finding herself at odds with the police and in the firing line of criminals, on the series premiere of "Stumptown," WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)COBIE SMULDERS
STUMPTOWN - "Forget it Dex, It's Stumptown." - Dex Parios - a strong, assertive and sharp-witted army veteran with a complicated love life, gambling debt and a brother to take care of - works as a PI in Portland, Oregon. With only herself to rely on, she solves other people's messes with a blind eye toward her own, finding herself at odds with the police and in the firing line of criminals, on the series premiere of "Stumptown," WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (ABC/Mitch Haaseth)COBIE SMULDERS /
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Stumptown shows a lot of potential with a solid series premiere and a brilliant performance by Cobie Smulders as the lead character alongside a charming performance by Jake Johnson.

Stumptown is one of the most anticipated new shows of September and as the latest addition to the ABC’s fall programming slate, this show starring the likes of Cobie Smulders and Jake Johnson does not disappoint at all and shows solid potential.

Stumptown is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Greg Rucka and follows the chronicles of private investigator Dex Parios (Cobie Smulders), who is a strong and sharp-witted army veteran with a taste for whiskey and gambling.

The pilot shows Dex struggling and being in denial with PTSD while also trying to support and take care of her brother who has down syndrome. She soon gets enlisted to help the neighborhood casino owner (who was once her almost mother-in-law) track down her granddaughter (also the daughter of the man Dex loved, who died serving in Afghanistan).

Jake Johnson plays Grey, the incredibly charming bartender and yet underused best friend of Dex. Dex’s brother also works in the bar with him. One of my favorite part about the show so far has been the scenes between Jake and Cobie, their chemistry is fabulous and they really sell this sweet friendship between Dex and Grey. Also as a fan of both New Girl and How I Met Your Mother seeing these two sitcom royalties interact is indeed something like a dream come true.

Michael Ealy plays a friendly cop who is taken away by Dex’s skills and ends up having a one-night stand with her.

Next. 2019 Primetime Emmy Awards: Best and worst moments. dark

And drama aside, by the end of the episode Stumptown really sold me on the idea of this show being a great detective drama and separating itself from most of them that are on TV right now. The show has gained a solid momentum and has shown great potential but only time will tell whether it will fall on the clichés or be a standout. One thing is already certain though, Cobie Smulders is one heck of a leading lady and she really elevated this show with her extremely sharp performance and her ability to blend humor with drama by giving some truly hilarious quips. Cobie Smulders is easily the best part of the show so far.

What did you think of the Stumptown series premiere? Will you be tuning in again next week?

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