TV Review: Justified - Ep 1 through 4

Several of my friends started tweeting about something called Justified a few weeks ago. By some sort of osmosis, I learned that it was a show set in Kentucky. And then I had a few spare hours and a DVR with two episodes of Justified on it today. So I grabbed some pizza and sat down on the couch. At the end of two episodes I wasn't sold but was interested enough to hunt down the other two episodes on Hulu.

My verdict? While it failed to capture the Kentucky I know and grew up in, Justified isn't half bad. It can't seem to decide whether or not it's going for full on southern camp or a cop drama that just happens to be set in rural Kentucky. My main nitpick is that despite being set in the lovely suburban paradise of Lexington, 90% of the show has been in Harlan, a town three hours away. Harlan has more in common with the coal fields of Virginia than most of Kentucky. Even then, the only thing setting this in Kentucky is the assumption that we're all redneck white-trash or obsessed with getting out of Kentucky.

Bottom Line: Even though it paints Kentucky in a negative light, Justified is an intriguing cop drama (the laughs are few and far between) with great characters and a lot of potential. Also, I like that hat.