A new procedural procedural MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN acquaints the viewers with a small-souled town where strange murders occur, and the main character is Karl Alberg, played by Rossif Sutherland. It is inspired by the nine books of L.R. Wright and is located in the picturesque seaport town of Gibsons in the west coast of Canada. The adaptation is also in the same genre as True Detective and Poker Face but has its own spin. Unlike those other shows MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN is not solely about murders but also about the off-camera relationships of the characters especially between Alberg and librarian Cassandra Lee portrayed by Kristin Kreuk.
Gibsons as the location for the show helps set up a mysterious aura that gives the show a creepy but interesting twist. Although the show depicts gruesome murders to cases of abduction, its audience feels compelled to stick around for new mysteries weekly. Still, it is not entirely a bleak story since the main theme also covers some hilarious episodes more so in the interaction between Alberg and Lee. Now, the question many viewers are asking is whether Karl Alberg is based on a real-life detective.
Is Karl Alberg in Murder in a Small Town Based on a Real Detective?
Karl Alberg is not based on a real detective. He is a fictional character created by author L.R. Wright for her mystery novels. He first appeared in her novel The Suspect (1985), which was initially supposed to be adapted into a movie starring Donald Sutherland. But the story has now been turned into this television series.
Alberg isn’t based on any real-life detective, which is why he is a completely original character. L.R. Wright designed him to be unlike other male leads that we are used to seeing in crime fighting dramas. But he is not a detective who is weighed down by a past that is troubled or has a terrible secret. But he’s not a criminal or a crazed killer; he’s a man in search of tranquility after trying to get away from the raging city life in Vancouver and move to the sleepy town of Gibsons. But his hope for peace is always dashed by the different crimes he is assigned to solve.
Yet Rossif Sutherland’s acting of Alberg is truly quite unique which makes his character a detective. Explaining the show in interviews, Sutherland said that Karl was a character who does not need to use guns or threats to make a suspect or witness cooperate. He is a detective and has emotions that show in his face, which is rather unusual for a detective narrative that employs some of the darkest anti-heroic tropes.
However in developing the show, the creators have ensured that while Alberg is a fictitious character, the world that he lives in is as real as possible. Being shot in a small town, where every character seems to know one another, the real-life-like relations in Gibsons make the crimes much more shocking. But as far as alberg himself, he still remains as fiction character, which allows the reader to see and consider human aspects of solving criminal cases.
All in all, although there is no real detective upon which Karl Alberg might have been modelled, his addition to the genre is a refreshing one. That is why he is an outstanding character in the series of crime dramas because instead of solving crimes through force he uses kindness and compassion. So, those in search of intrigue, love, and people’s kindness, MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN can become their cup of tea.
Come back to tvacute.com soon for more MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN updated news, sneak peek, and spoilers.
