What’s Worth Watching: Fortitude’s Murder in the Negative-First Degree

Fortitude, Series Premiere (Thursday, Jan. 29, 10/9c, Pivot)

Aside from delightful Aussie comedy Please Like Me, Pivot has mostly been the destination for Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns, if you get the channel at all. But here comes a reason to lobby your cable provider for its inclusion in your lineup: Fortitude, an icy drama set in a tiny town in the Arctic circle, where polar bears outnumber humans 3:1 and the murder rate is zero. Until now.

The mere presence of Stanley Tucci and Michael Gambon (Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies, and also every other British film) would be enough to get any discerning viewer’s attention. But it’s Richard Dormer’s abrasive, practical sheriff Dan Anderssen who ends up being the main draw, and his understated chemistry with Tucci and the rest of the cast hold the show together.