In full effervescence struggle of series and movies on the platforms of video streaming services it is difficult to find a series that seems like a breath of fresh air. Through a Youtube short I saw a small fragment of what seemed to be a series. I looked up information and came up with the name of the series. Mr Inbetween is an Australian black comedy-drama television series that premiered on FX on 25 September 2018 in the United States and in Australia premiered on 1 October 2018 on Fox Showcase. The series is inspired by the 2005 film The Magician directed by Scott Ryan who also participates in this series as an actor, creator and screenwriter.
Ray Shoesmith is a hired assassin who makes a living balancing his criminal activities with his obligations to friends and family. He tries to be a father to Brittany, his daughter to his ex-wife, a loving boyfriend to Ally, and a good caregiver to his ailing brother Bruce.
The series has been critically acclaimed and has been compared to cult series such as The Sopranos. One of the greatest successes of the series is that it offers the chapters in a time format of just half an hour. That reduced time makes the pace of each episode very dynamic and electric.
Ray Shoesmith: the hitman for hire
Ray Shoesmith, played by Scott Ryan, is a hitman for hire, but at the same time a good father, brother and boyfriend. That duality between showing on the one hand his life in the dark side of a hitman and on the other his side with obligations and tenderness towards the beings he loves is very well developed in the series.
Sometimes you see Ray as a poor devil, sometimes you see him as an energetic killer, who can justify what he does, sometimes as a father. It is very interesting the talks he has in meetings with a psychologist and other people with problems and how he is clear that violence, if justified, is an ace in the sleeve that you can use.
Plot
The plot follows Ray as he tries to balance his job as a hitman with his family responsibilities. The series is a mix of black comedy and drama that explores themes such as parenting, relationships, and violence.
There are very good conversions between the characters in the series. In many cases it touches on “controversial” issues such as the existence or not of Santa Claus. The screenwriter does a very good job often explaining complicated issues in a simple and understandable way. For example, he explains to his daughter what is when she catches Ray with his girlfriend in the middle of sexual intercourse in a very simple way.
In addition, for geek lovers this series explores many themes such as unicorns or Star Trek or Star Wars. It’s as if the writer has rummaged through his trunk of memories, all his life experiences over the years and dumped them into the series.
Where to watch this Australian serie and its structure
The series is created by the protagonist himself, Scott Ryan, who signs the scripts of all the chapters. It is currently available on the Disney+ platform. You can find more information at https://www.disneyplus.com/es-es/series/mr-inbetween/ . Mr Inbetween has 3 seasons and a total of 26 episodes.
The Sopranos but in Australian version
The series has great similarities to the Sopranos classic. Ray gets into a mafia world in which he develops very well but is surrounded by undesirable people and who have the trigger very easy. In this world where he gets money for purging other people, but also because he thinks he has to, even though sometimes he is tricked and killed by people who don’t have to.
In the third season it is noteworthy the photography especially of the last chapters. Several chapters deal with a car trip and visually has beautiful images that enhance the series. Therefore, I recommend seeing it without hesitation.
References
(1) Mr. Inbetween serie australian – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Inbetween.
(2) Críticas de Mr. Inbetween (Serie de TV) (2018) – FilmAffinity. https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/reviews/2/497881.html.
