‘Spiral’

You know things are going badly for a character on a French show when they have stringy hair. (On American shows, it’s when they wear baggy sweatshirts. On British shows, it’s when they have a very messy kitchen.) And when Season 7 of this French crime show begins, stringy hair abounds, and everyone is looking for a way to get back to his or her old self … maybe by solving this double murder?

You could just jump in — each season is about a different case — but the whole point of getting into a foreign crime show is to get all the way into it. So: Start with Season 1, which aired in France in 2005. In normal times, I’d say not to binge the whole thing, since it’s so dark, but some weeks just call for murder-show cocooning. The first two episodes of Season 7 are already available, and two more come out each Tuesday; Season 8 begins on MHz Choice Jan. 5.

By Margaret Lyons
NY Times Television Critic

Read NY Times full article here