Death and Other Details - Rare

There are quite a few moving pieces in the opening episode of Hulu's Death and Other Details, one could argue too many (but that doesn't stop it from being a darn good time). As our narrator, detective Rufus Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin), points out, we need to keep our eyes on the details. Our story opens aboard a luxury cruise ship owned by a banker turned entrepreneur (Rahul Kohli) whose maiden voyage is hired for the retirement celebration of CEO Lawrence Collier (David Marshall Grant). Among the guests is Imogene Scott (Violett Beane) who grew up in the Collier household following the death of her mother in the one case Rufus was never able to solve (for which the young Imogene, played flashbacks by Sophia Reid-Gantzert, never forgave him).

When murder occurs on the ship, and early circumstantial evidence points to Imogene, Rufus reinserts himself back into her life offering the chance to help him solve the crime... and perhaps another murder which has gone unsolved for far too long. Structured in typical whodunit fashion with some modern flourishes thrown in, we meet an assortment of privileged suspects including the heir apparent to the company Anna Collier (Lauren Patten), her troubled wife Leila (Pardis Saremi), her degenerate brother Tripp (Jack Cutmore-Scott), the family lawyer (Jere Burns), and of course the numerous crew.

"Rare" sells me on the premise of the show, both in its mystery and in further exploration of the Rufus and Imogene relationship. Although we see more of Rufus with young Imogene in the flashbacks than the modern version played by Beane, it's this fractured relationship which looks to be the key part of the series with the unlikely pair reuniting to solve the murder aboard the ship. And Imogene's knowledge of the family, and possibly divided loyalties, will no doubt come into play before the truth is eventually revealed.

• Title: Death and Other Details - Rare
• IMDb: link