Really Into This TV Show: The Sinner on USA

We are Really Into This TV Show: The Sinner on USA Network. It’s an eight episode series that began airing on August 2, 2017

Based on the book The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr

FIRST EPISODE SPOILERS ARE BELOW

About The Series:

An eight episode close-ended series, The Sinner follows a young mother (Jessica Biel) who, when overcome by an inexplicable fit of rage, commits a startling act of violence and to her horror has no idea why. The event launches an inverted and utterly surprising crime thriller whose driving force is not the “who” or the “what” — but the “why” — as an investigator (Bill Pullman) finds himself obsessed with uncovering the woman’s buried motive. Together they travel a harrowing journey into the depths of her psyche and the violent secrets hidden in her past. New episodes of The Sinner air Wednesdays at 10/9c on USA.

About the Book:

On a sunny summer afternoon by the lake, Cora Bender stabs a man to death. Why? What would cause this quiet, kind young mother to stab a complete stranger in the throat over and over again, in full view of her family and friends? For the local police, it’s an open-and-shut case. Cora quickly confesses and there’s no shortage of witnesses, but those questions remain unanswered. Haunted by the case, the police commissioner refuses to close the file and begins his own maverick investigation.

So begins the slow unraveling of Cora’s past, a harrowing descent into a woman’s private hell. A dark, spellbinding novel, where the truth is to be questioned at every turn, The Sinner has been a bestseller around the world, and is poised to be a summer smash with the coming TV adaptation, already hailed as one of the most anticipated shows of the summer.

Y’all, I am Really Into This TV Show: The Sinner on USA.

I watched the first episode of this 8 part series & I’m in love. Now, I haven’t always been the biggest Jessical Biel fan, but she is on fire as Cora in The Sinner. Episode One finds Cora living a fairly ‘normal’ life with her husband & young son. Her life seems very much intertwined with her husband’s family as she works within the family business & her home is located adjacent to her in-laws’ home. Cora’s mother-in-law is up her ass & seems to run the show especially when it comes to raising Cora’s son. Her husband chooses to not do anything about it. Not sure what that’s all about- Momma’s boy syndrome, perhaps?

Cora seems like she’s got some OCD/anxiety issues as she deep cleans the house on a Saturday morning & can’t seem to relax. The viewers get some flashbacks later on that let us know her mother & her family have some mental illness that’s deep rooted. I love how we get just a tiny piece of her background at a time. That’s another reason I am Really Into This TV Show: The Sinner on USA. It reminds me of one of my favorite reads of 2017, Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber.

Day at the Beach Gone Wrong

Anyway, a day at the beach/lake is cut short when she wanders off way past the roped-off area and almost drowns intentionally. Like I said, she’s got some issues. She returns to the towels with her husband & son & is peeling a pear with a pairing knife when she begins to people watch a young couple that is all over each other. She starts to have a legitimate panic attack/blackout episode when the couple puts on a new song. Cora then stabs a man, a stranger in the neck & kills him.

The police show up, take her away & in a heartbreaking part of the show, she’s crying & banging on the window in the back of the cruiser while her husband looks on while sitting on the tailgate of an EMT truck not even making eye contact with her. Damn that momma’s boy!

The Case

Bill Pullman (LOVE HIM) comes into the fold as a detective who isn’t ready to call it a closed case. He’s convinced there is something more going on & he begins talking to everyone he can.  The story begins to build & things get even less clear about why Cora did this. Bill’s character has some issues as well- like a mistress that stands on his fingers. He’s Really Into some kinky stuff, for real. All these characters have so many secrets and hidden pasts, just like our favorite characters from Big Little Lies.

We are only one episode in & I am hooked.

One of the reasons I am Really Into This TV Show: The Sinner on USA is because Jessica Biel is delivering a phenomenal performance & she is an executive producer on the series. When Cora spends her first night in jail and doesn’t have her sleeping pills, Jessica displays so much frustration, fear, anger & pain that it’s so hard to watch, but as a viewer, we can’t look away.

The Sinner airs tonight, so don’t miss it.

What other summer shows or series are you Really Into?