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THE DIVIDE
July 16, 2014  | By David Bianculli

WE TV, 9:00 p.m. ET

 

SERIES PREMIERE: This new WE tv series was two years in the making – and originally was made as a series pilot for AMC, which reportedly passed on the series in favor of the much less compelling Low Winter Sun. In time, though, AMC’s loss became WE tv’s gain, because the sister network (along with IFC and Sundance, others under the AMC Networks umbrella) continued to develop The Divide, eventually positioning it as its first original scripted drama. It’s a big step for WE tv, and The Divide sticks the landing, serving up a new series that is much more intelligent, nuanced and balanced than the norm. The series is written by Richard LaGravenese of HBO’s Behind the Candelabra, and stars Marin Ireland and Damon Gupton as two people on opposite sides of a Death Row murder case. She’s the Innocence Initiative caseworker arguing for the innocence of a prisoner about to be executed, and he’s the district attorney who wants the sentence to be carried out. One of the more impressive aspects of The Divide is how it humanizes and empathizes with both sides – as with Showtime’s Homeland, there’s not one central character and perspective, but two. Definitely worth sampling, even on a network you may never have visited before, unless you’re a reality TV enthusiast. But that’s the point…

 
 
 
 
 
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