King & Maxwell

This series didn't last long, though I think that had more to do with corporate decision making than the quality of the production, the writing and the acting because, in truth, "King & Maxwell" was a very good program with a lot of potential.The series revolves around two former Secret Service agents who were "retired" after something that shouldn't have happened to the people they were protecting did, in fact, happen. Based on David Baldacci's best-selling books, the series featured Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn in the lead roles as private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. Both characters come with an armful of baggage: King was fired when a presidential candidate was assassinated on his watch; Maxwell was canned after one of her protectees was kidnapped. King went through a bad period; drinking too heavily and simply drifting until a friend helped him get his life together and into law school. A lawyer, he practices only occasionally while running his private detective agency. Maxwell has yet to make her peace with the fact that she is no longer with the Secret Service."King & Maxwell" also featured three very intriguing secondary characters: A computer genius who is mildly autistic, a former forger turned tattoo artist and a severely buttoned-down FBI agent. The dialogue was snappy and, unlike some other mystery shows that feature men and women partners, King and Maxwell have no romantic designs on one another. That was a refreshing change for me.What might have doomed the series is the fact that Maxwell is the physical member of the team. In most of the episodes she is the one who gets into fights while King would rather talk his way out of situations. Many U.S. viewers are uncomfortable with the idea that a female is the power figure in a business relationship: If you don't believe me then take a look at real world numbers that show most major companies and corporations are led by men, not women.I enjoyed this series and wish it had been given at least one more season to see if it could have boosted its audience.

We so hoped that this whole series would be as good as the first several episodes ... but it was uneven. Some episodes were really good then later on several were not so good. None were terrible though Edgar, the big guy who we assumed was on the autistic spectrum, lost his originality way too soon. By the fifth episode all I could think of was that he'd watched "Starman" too often. In other words, Edgar was a poor imitation of the Jeff Bridges' character in that movie. Otherwise we liked the King and Maxwell team (Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn), especially when Maxwell's brother joins in the fun in one of the episodes. Also Romijm's husband is a private eye in another episode and great as an incompetent private detective. In fact the main cast is quite good, self-deprecating humor being the series' best asset. Because good episodes outnumber the disappointing ones, I'd recommend the dvd.

King and Maxwell was an incredibly good show and done in by the suits who do not appreciate a great series beginning. This seems to be a trend as some shows have obvious fan appreciation but the so called decision makers fall down and can't get back up. It seems they stumble over themselves trying to find the next block buster instead of appreciating what the fans see in a show and work to improve the ratings if need be.For those wondering if they should purchase this first season I would say yes - this was a great show. The characters were great and the scripts funny and fresh.I would like to add that the characters of King and Maxwell would have benefitted from a larger family of players. Not that they really needed this. Both were great as is. However the shows that the suits seem to think are incredibly well crafted and had super ratings were also the beneficiaries of a large central team cast. Let's take The Closer - a series that Tunney was a cast member in. The police team alone had about seven great members all of which had their own quirks and funny additions to the whole. Look at some of the police investigative series with a long run over several seasons. They all have a large central team of cast members to play off each other and make the series interesting. NCIS, Bones, The Closer, Law and Order, CSI Miami and the list goes on and on.It is rare that a James Spader comes along to carry an entire show with a few other main cast members such as in Blacklist.Sad to see this series not appreciated by the suits - if they wanted bigger ratings they needed to spend a few bucks on a larger central team. But as is this is a great twosome. And I might add a blonde not afraid to mix it up with anyone.Great season !.

This show was so poorly publicized that I didn't know it existed until it didn't any more. I'm a Jon Tenney fan, so I bought this collection of the only 10 shows ever done. And guess what: I found it to rank with The Closer and NCIS as the best shows so far of the 21st century. The other two, of course, had great runs and earned widespread acclaim. Along with King and Maxwell, they also were the only shows of this era that had a clean slate for season one: All excellent shows, no bummers. Can't help wondering: Why wasn't this great show better publicized? I mean, how can any show based on David Baldacci's writing genius and Shane Brennan's producing genius be anything but great? What a shame!

It seems if i like it it gets cancelled. i was so happy to find the DVD.

This is a good book for a rainy day when you just want to catch up with old friends. I've read enough King and Maxwell books, that I consider the main characters old friends. The character and plot development make this a very entertaining read.

It's too bad this series was cancelled. It was funny and had great twists. Loved the characters, the chemistry between King and Maxwell and Edgar and Benny and FBI Agents, Got into this show because of Jon Tenney off of The Closer and Major Crimes. Sorry to see it end.

Lots of fun. Good chemistry between the actors.

This was a great show. Funny & serious at the same time. As usual, they have cancelled it. Too bad!!