Welcome to Deadloch

Hey, do you have an Amazon Prime subscription? (Yes, yes, I know - stop feeding the billionaires, I know!). Anyway, you probably do and if you do you should definitely look up the series “Deadloch” on Prime Video. Yes, I realize I’m being bossy about things you should watch. But given the recent mass culling of queer female-led shows (like, seriously, we’re in a full “Bring out your dead (lesbians!) plague right now…), I’m trying to support the few we have left. And while we’re on the topic, how about giving us more than just four measly episodes of ALOTO, Prime? How about that?

Right, where was I? Deadloch. It’s ostensibly a crime drama, but also a black comedy with a hearty dab of satire, set in a rural Tasmanian town on a lake with a name that literally translates to Dead Lake Lake. The town is transforming from a small podunk village into an idyllic lesbian cultural mecca. (Yes, you read that right, an idyllic lesbian cultural mecca.) Except, gosh darn, all these dead white men keep popping up. Put it all together and this is your perfect man-hating lesbian crime show complete with two female detectives leading the investigation/series. Did I mention it starts with the accidental setting of a dick on fire? Because it fucking does, it really fucking does.

Also did I mention one of said female detectives is introduced by her with her going down on her wife? And then they put a sweater on a dog. Because it fucking does, kittens. It really, really does.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Are both the detectives queer? Well, alas, no. And not the one you think, either. Which I believe is intentional (but more on that later).

Now, granted, the show isn’t perfect. They set up a well-worn odd-couple pairing with the two detectives (one is by the book, the other wears cargo shorts to crime scenes). And, quite honestly, the show takes too long setting up their clash and making sure we realize they’re Very.Different.People. But then, about half way through the eight-episode series, it calms the fuck down and settles into the fun female-led crime show/black comedy of our dreams.

Honestly, if the cargo-short wearing detective had been genderswapped I would have almost immediately stopped watching. But the slight shift, by making it an obnoxious slob rule-breaking FEMALE detective we tolerate it because we haven’t seen those kinds of redemption arcs unlike their overused male counterparts. But, yeah, Eddie is definitely grating at the beginning (honestly so were some of the supporting characters), but then it found its groove about midway through.

I also enjoyed the show’s sometimes subtle, sometimes grand caricaturesque details. I don’t know if either series creator Kate McCartney or Kate McLennan are gay (but, if they were and a couple wouldn’t that be cute? The McKates!) But if they aren’t then they at least know a lot of queer women because some of the jokes are just *lesbian chef’s kiss* (Any Aussie kittens out there? Help us out, what’s the 411 on the McKates?)

Anyway, back to my original point., did I mention this is a crime show with two female leads, one who is a lesbian, and they’re solving crimes in a town FILLED with lesbians? Yeah, you know you are going to watch it.