In the Dark is an American comedy television series, created by Corinne Kingsbury for The CW, which debuted as a mid-season entry during the 2018–19 television season. On January 30, 2018, The CW ordered the show to pilot, with Michael Showalter set to direct. In May 2018, the show received a series order. The series premiered on April 4, 2019. In April 2019, the series was renewed for a second season that premiered on April 16, 2020. In January 2020, The CW renewed the series for a third season.
Premise
An irreverent blind woman in her twenties, Murphy, drifts through life in a drunken haze. She has only two friends—Jess, her understanding roommate, and Tyson, a teenage drug-dealer who saved her from a violent mugging. Out for a walk with her guide dog, Pretzel, she stumbles upon a corpse that must be Tyson's, but it disappears before the police arrive. When they do not seem inclined to investigate, Murphy clings onto the only thing that can keep her together: figuring out what happened to her friend. She resolves to solve the murder herself, while also managing her colorful dating life and the job she hates at "Guiding Hope", a school for training guide dogs run by her parents.
Cast and characters
Main
Perry Mattfeld as Murphy Mason, a young woman in her 20s who has been totally blind since age 14 from retinitis pigmentosa. Her blindness, introverted personality, and self-destructive lifestyle make her unwelcoming to most people. When a friend is murdered, she finds a new purpose in trying to find his killer.
Rich Sommer as Dean Riley, a cop who sympathizes with Murphy since his daughter Chloe was also blind.
Brooke Markham as Jess Damon, a veterinarian at Guiding Hope and Murphy's roommate and best friend who also assists her as an informal aide at times.
Casey Deidrick as Max Parish, a food truck owner and associate of Darnell who becomes attracted to Murphy.
Keston John as Darnell James, a local gang leader and Tyson's cousin, who Murphy turns to for help finding him.
Morgan Krantz as Felix Bell, Murphy's colleague at Guiding Hope.
Thamela Mpumlwana as Tyson Parker, a teenager who saved Murphy from a violent mugging two years previously, and became her closest friend until his untimely death.
Derek Webster as Hank Mason, Murphy's adoptive father and the owner of Guiding Hope.
Kathleen York as Joy Mason, Murphy's adoptive mother. Unlike Hank, she is less accepting of Murphy's poor life choices.
Recurring
Humberly Gonzalez as Vanessa, Jess's ex girlfriend.
Calle Walton as Chloe, Dean's daughter who is also blind and looks up to Murphy as a big sister.
The series was created by Corinne Kingsbury for The CW, to debut during the 2018–19 television season. On January 30, 2018, The CW officially ordered the pilot. The series was greenlit on May 11, 2018. In the Dark is the first CW primetime series to carry Descriptive Video Service audio, though The CW, as a minor network, is not required to have any DVS provisions under the regulations for audio description for their affiliates, so the base of stations carrying that track is smaller than other networks where carriage of descriptive video is required. On January 10, 2019, The CW announced the premiere of the series on April 4 at 9 p.m. On April 24, 2019, The CW renewed the series for a second season, that was originally scheduled to premiere on May 28, 2020, however it was moved to premiere date on April 16, 2020. On January 7, 2020, the series was renewed for a third season.
Casting
On March 2, 2018, it was announced that Perry Mattfeld had been cast in the protagonist role of Murphy in the series' pilot, along with Brooke Markham as Jess, Murphy's roommate and best friend, and Keston John as Darnell, a local drug dealer; followed on March 9 with Kathleen York as Joy, Murphy's mother, and Derek Webster as Hank, Joy's husband. Austin Nichols was cast as Dean, a cop with a blind daughter, on March 12. On May 16, 2018, The CW announced that the role of Dean had been recast; with Nichols thereafter replaced by Rich Sommer on July 13, 2018. On September 10, 2019, Matt Murray was cast in a recurring role for the second season.
Criticism over lack of disabled actors
The show received some criticism for casting a sighted actor to play a blind character. British actor James Moore, who plays a disabled character in the soap operaEmmerdale and has a disability himself, argued that disabled actors will always be better placed to play disabled roles due to their life experience. On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, critics worried that the "questionable treatment of physical handicaps may leave some viewers with a dim impression." During a panel discussion at the Television Critics Association press tour, executive producer Nicky Weinstock defended the choices, claiming that they initially auditioned blind actors, but ultimately cast Perry because she was the best actor for the role.
In the Dark premiered on The CW at 9:00 p.m. on April 4, 2019.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 73% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 7.16/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Perry Mattfield is compelling as an amateur sleuth In the Dark, although the series' recycling of mystery tropes and questionable treatment of physical handicaps may leave some viewers with a dim impression." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
