Apple TV+’s ‘Suspicion’ Stretches out a Kidnapping to Sluggish Lengths 

Alci Rengifo

Apple TV’s “Suspicion” is the streamer’s latest whodunit series. Someone up there in the big executives’ office really does like this genre. Unlike some of the other titles on the roster with a similar premise, this one is another experiment in drained color palettes and dragged out storylines. If you are going to tune in expecting to witness the much-needed comeback of Uma Thurman, the first big twist this show will offer is that she’s barely in it. She is a distant presence in what amounts to an ensemble that is skillfully cast. The mystery that initiates the series is simple and then gets spread out into a large spiral of subplots that fight for attention. 

A kidnapping sets things off when young Leo Newman (Gerran Howell) gets snatched in a luxurious New York City hotel by masked assailants. Leo is the son of Katherine Newman (Thurman), a powerful media mogul who was in the running to be named ambassador to the United Kingdom. Footage of the kidnapping leaks online and British cop Vanessa Okoye (Angel Coulby) teams up with FBI agent Scott Anderson (Noah Emmerich) to round up some suspects. They find four candidates with suspicious backgrounds. Tara (Elizabeth Henstridge) is a lecturer who has an activist history and dislike for elites. Nat (Georgina Campbell) was preparing to get married when the authorities ruined everything by raiding the wedding. She has a lot of money and a burner phone tucked away at home, and has also been dealing with loan sharks harassing her mother. Aadesh (Kunal Nayyar) was nabbed while secretly traveling to Manhattan when was supposed to be visiting family in Birmingham. He claims he was in town pitch himself to a cybersecurity firm. The only suspect that fits the profile of potential plotter is Sean Tilson (Elyes Gabel), who changes his appearance mid-flight from NYC to Belfast and takes over a boat with some kind of temptress he ties to a bed.

“Suspicion” faces a very common challenge when doing a serial kidnapping thriller in that every episode needs to give us a reason to care. The first episode jumbles together everyone’s separate stories with a cryptic energy that creates pure confusion. For an initial chapter this isn’t a problem because we’re expected to be thrown into a puzzle when it comes to a whodunit. But as the series develops it generates little urgency because everyone’s backstories continue on in a bland fashion where the stakes rarely intensify. Because the writers feel the pressure of having to deliver something for several episodes, plots get dragged out like Nat’s debacle involving her hidden cash. Her sister (Lydia West) finds the cash and gets pulled into stretched out scenes involving meet ups at parks with shady figures. Okoye interrogates everyone, releasing bits of information we’re meant to remember, like a shell company Nat may be involved with, or Tara’s own tattered personal life involving an ex and a daughter. Tara gets some of the better, snappier lines, like when Anderson asks if she uses dating apps solely for dates and her dead serious answer is, “It’s all about the sex.” Aadesh’s storyline is a bit of a snoozer as he spends most of the early episodes trying to convince his wife he’s telling the truth, while dealing with stereotypical Indian relatives who bemoan him for not working harder.

Because the show gets so distracted with everyone’s narratives, which are meant to slowly connect more as the season progresses, the tension surrounding the actual kidnapping quickly fades. We learn little about Newman as a mogul, except that she’s very rich and powerful, and Leo is essentially a non-character. Hopefully Thurman meant this role as a little banner to announce we will see more of her soon. Eventually the kidnappers do make a grand appearance by interrupting a congressional hearing. Somehow the show still wants to throw on top of everything an anti-corporate message. Maybe this premise would have worked better as a tight movie in the style of oldies but goodies such as Ron Howard’s “Ransom.” Instead of feeling the nerves of an endangered offspring, we’re trying to keep track of Nat and her laundered dollars, Aadesh’s marriage falling apart and Tilson’s James Bond villain-style antics. The narrative picks up a bit more midway through the season, but the question is how many viewers will still be willing to keep watching until the end. “Suspicion” is another Peak TV offering where the idea gets outdone by the need to break it up into too many pieces that can get tiresome trying to fit together.

“Suspicion” season one begins streaming Feb. 4 with new episodes premiering Fridays on Apple TV+.