''In the Dark'' is an American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, created by Corinne Kingsbury for

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, which debuted as a mid-season entry during the 2018–19 television season. On January 30, 2018,

ordered the show to pilot, with

Michael Showalter Michael Showalter (born June 17, 1970) is an American comedian, actor, director, writer, and producer. He first came to recognition as a cast member on MTV's ''The State'', which aired from 1993 to 1995. He and David Wain created the ''Wet Hot ...

set to direct. In May 2018, the show received a series order. The series premiered on April 4, 2019. In April 2019, the series was renewed for a second season that premiered on April 16, 2020. In January 2020, The CW renewed the series for a third season which premiered on June 23, 2021. In February 2021, the series was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on June 6, 2022. In May 2022, it was announced that the fourth season will be its last.

Premise

An irreverent blind woman in her twenties, Murphy, drifts through life in a drunken haze. She has only two friends—Jess, her understanding roommate, and Tyson, a teenage drug-dealer who saved her from a violent mugging. Out for a walk with her guide dog, Pretzel, she stumbles upon a corpse that must be Tyson's, but it disappears before the police arrive. When they do not seem inclined to investigate, Murphy clings onto the only thing that can keep her together: figuring out what happened to her friend. She resolves to solve the murder herself, while also managing her colorful dating life and the job she hates at "Guiding Hope", a school run by her parents for training guide dogs. After falling for Max, who is secretly associated with the drug kingpin that employed Tyson, Murphy gets dragged into criminal activity.

Cast and characters

Overview

Main

Perry Mattfeld Perry Frances Garcia Mattfeld is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her roles as Mel in '' Shameless'' and FrankenGirl in ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', and her leading role as Murphy Mason in The CW crime drama '' In the Dark' ...

as Murphy Mason, a young woman in her 20s who has been totally blind since age 14 from

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

. Her blindness, introverted personality, and self-destructive lifestyle make her unwelcoming to most people. When a friend is murdered, she finds a new purpose in trying to find his killer and soon becomes involved in criminal activities. *

Rich Sommer Rich Sommer (born February 2, 1978) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Harry Crane on the AMC drama series ''Mad Men''. He is also known for his roles in the comedy-drama films '' The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), ''Celeste and ...

as Dean Riley (seasons 1–2), a Chicago PD detective who sympathizes with Murphy, given that his daughter Chloe is also blind. * Brooke Markham as Jess Damon (seasons 1–3), a veterinarian at Guiding Hope and Murphy's roommate and best friend who also assists her as an informal aide at times. *

Casey Deidrick Casey Jon Deidrick ( ; born April 25, 1987) is an American actor and singer. Deidrick is best known for originating the role of Chad DiMera on the NBC soap opera '' Days of Our Lives''. Personal life Deidrick was born in Santa Clara, California ...

as Max Parish, a food truck owner and associate of Darnell who becomes attracted to Murphy. * Keston John as Darnell James, a local gang leader and Tyson's cousin, to whom Murphy turns for help finding him. * Morgan Krantz as Felix Bell, Murphy's colleague at Guiding Hope who becomes a trusted ally & later on in the series a trusted friend. * Thamela Mpumlwana as Tyson Parker (season 1; guest season 4), a teenager who saved Murphy from a violent mugging two years previously, and became her closest friend until his untimely death. * Derek Webster as Hank Mason (season 1; guest season 2), Murphy's adoptive father and the co-owner of Guiding Hope. *

Kathleen York Kathleen York is an American actress, screenwriter, and Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter recording artist. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for " In the Deep" from the 2004 film ''Crash.'' Life and career Actress Ac ...

as Joy Mason (season 1; special guest seasons 2–4), Murphy's adoptive mother and the co-owner of Guiding Hope. Unlike Hank, she is less accepting of Murphy's poor life choices. * Theodore Bhat as Josh Wallace (seasons 3–4; recurring season 2), an IRS-CI special agent who is starting to lose his eyesight. He eventually embarks on a hate-filled vendetta against Murphy after she uses and deceives him in trying to cover up her involvement in criminal activities. * Matt Murray as Officer Gene Clemens (seasons 3–4; recurring season 2), originally Dean's partner on the police force, he is later promoted to head of a narcotics task force for Chicago PD. * Marianne Rendón as Leslie Bell (season 4; recurring season 3), a lawyer and Felix’s sister.

Recurring

* Levi and Trip as Pretzel, Murphy's loyal guide dog. * Humberly Gonzalez as Vanessa (season 1; guest season 2), Jess's ex-girlfriend. * Calle Walton as Chloe Riley (seasons 1–2 & 4), Dean's daughter who is also blind and looks up to Murphy as a big sister. * Saycon Sengbloh as Jules Becker (season 1; guest season 2), Dean's partner and Darnell's love interest. *

Leslie Silva Leslie Silva (born April 21, 1968) is an American actress who has had long running television roles in ''Odyssey 5'', ''Providence'', and ''Shades of Blue''. Early life and education In 1968, Silva was born in Schenectady, New York. She graduat ...

as Rhonda Parker (season 1; guest season 4), Tyson's mother. *

Lindsey Broad Lindsey Broad is an American television, stage, and film actress. She is best known for her role as flirtatious temp Cathy Simms on the NBC series ''The Office''. Her film credits include ''21 Jump Street'', ''Don Jon'', and ''Get Him to the G ...

as Chelsea (seasons 1–2 & 4), Murphy's bartender friend and Dean's love interest, then Felix's. * Sammy Azero as Wesley Moreno (season 1) *

Nicki Micheaux Nicole "Nicki" Micheaux (born 1971) is an American actress, known for her role as Jennifer 'Jenn' Sutton in the ABC Family drama series '' Lincoln Heights'' (2007–2009), for which she received two NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a ...

as Nia Bailey (seasons 1–2), proprietor of a laundromat which serves as a front for her operations as a drug lord and money launderer. *

Ana Ayora Ana C. Ayora (born July 8, 1983) is an American actress best known for her role as Nuria Soto in the 2013 film ''The Big Wedding'' and as Deputy Nina Cruz in the Cinemax original series ''Banshee''. She also appeared in the 2019 film '' Captain Ma ...

as Det. Sarah Barnes (seasons 1 & 3-4), Max's confidential handler who later joins Gene's narcotics task force. *

Chris Perfetti Chris Perfetti (born December 12, 1988) is an American actor. He currently portrays Jacob Hill on the ABC comedy ''Abbott Elementary'', for which he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award. His other roles include Tim Fletch on the NBC series ...

as Ben (season 2), Chelsea's slacker brother hired by Felix as a receptionist at Guiding Hope. * Natalie Liconti as Sterling Fuller (season 2), Sam's girlfriend who's secretly keeping an eye on Nia's money and drugs hidden at Guiding Hope. * Cortni Vaughn Joyner as Sam (season 2, guest seasons 1, 3-4), Nia's henchwoman. * Dewshane Williams as Trey (seasons 2–4) * Alan Van Sprang as Keith Alper (seasons 2–3) *

Maurice Compte Maurice Compte (; born in 1969) is an American actor known for his roles as Gaff in ''Breaking Bad'', Santiago "Big Evil" Flores in ''End of Watch'', and as Colonel Carrillo in '' Narcos''. Early life Born and raised in New Orleans, Compte is ...

as Josiah (seasons 2–3) * Kimberly Laferriere as Lauren (season 3) * Aris Tyros as Beau (season 3) * Claudia Jurt as Cindy (season 3) * Stuart Hughes as Det. Miller (season 3, guest season 2) * Joey Klein as Redford Long (season 3) * Aiza Ntibarikure as Alex (season 3) *

Roma Maffia Roma Maffia is an American actress. Life and career Roma Maffia grew up in Brooklyn, New York and is of English, German and West Indian descent. Her Italian surname reportedly comes from her stepfather. Maffia began her official acting career ...

as Paula Romano (season 4) *

Dalmar Abuzeid Dalmar Abuzeid (born October 23, 1990) is a Canadian actor. He initially became known for portraying Danny Van Zandt in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' from 2004 until 2010. Since ''Degrassi'', he has appeared in a variety of television series ...

as Navarro (season 4) * Billy MacLellan as Reggie (season 4) *

Julie Khaner Julie Khaner (born December 5, 1957) is a Canadian television and film actress, best known for her roles in as Alana Newman Robinovitch in '' Street Legal'', Emily Henchpaw in the 1995 version of ''Jake and the Kid'', Sidney Dernhoff in '' The Ne ...

as Kate Simmons (season 4; guest season 3) *

Mimi Kennedy Mary Claire "Mimi" Kennedy (born September 25, 1948) is an American actress, author, and activist. Best known for her roles in television sitcoms, Kennedy co-starred in numerous short-lived sitcoms before her role as Ruth Sloan on '' Homefront'' ...

as Gran (season 4) *

Peter Outerbridge Peter Outerbridge (born June 30, 1966) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Ari Tasarov in the CW action series ''Nikita'', Dr. David Sandström in the TMN series ''ReGenesis'', Henrik "Hank" Johanssen in ''Orphan Black'', Bob Corbett ...

as Jimmy McKay (season 4)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2020)

Season 3 (2021)

Season 4 (2022)

Production

Development

The series was created by Corinne Kingsbury for

, to debut during the 2018–19 television season. On January 30, 2018, The CW officially ordered the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

. The series was

greenlit To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Film industry In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...

on May 11, 2018. ''In the Dark'' is the first CW primetime series to carry

Descriptive Video Service Audio description, also referred to as a video description, described video, or more precisely called a visual description, is a form of narration used to provide information surrounding key visual elements in a media work (such as a film or telev ...

audio, though The CW, as a minor network, is not required to have any DVS provisions under the regulations for

audio description Audio description, also referred to as a video description, described video, or more precisely called a visual description, is a form of narration used to provide information surrounding key visual elements in a media work (such as a film or te ...

for their affiliates, so the base of stations carrying that track is smaller than other networks where carriage of descriptive video is required. On January 10, 2019, The CW announced the premiere of the series on April 4 at 9 p.m. On April 24, 2019, The CW renewed the series for a second season, that was originally scheduled to premiere on May 28, 2020, however it was moved to premiere date on April 16, 2020. On January 7, 2020, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on June 23, 2021. On February 3, 2021, The CW renewed the series for a fourth season which premiered on June 6, 2022. On May 12, 2022, The CW announced that the fourth season will be its last.

Casting

On March 2, 2018, it was announced that

had been cast in the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

role of Murphy in the series' pilot, along with Brooke Markham as Jess, Murphy's roommate and best friend, and Keston John as Darnell, a local drug dealer; followed on March 9 with Kathleen York as Joy, Murphy's mother, and Derek Webster as Hank, Joy's husband.

Austin Nichols Austin Nichols (born April 24, 1980) is an American actor and director, known for his role as Julian Baker in The CW drama series ''One Tree Hill''. He is also known for his roles in the films ''The Day After Tomorrow'' and '' Wimbledon''. He st ...

was cast as Dean, a cop with a blind daughter, on March 12. On May 16, 2018, The CW announced that the role of Dean had been recast; with Nichols thereafter replaced by Rich Sommer on July 13, 2018. On September 10, 2019, Matt Murray was cast in a recurring role for the second season. The show received some criticism for casting a sighted actor to play a blind character. British actor James Moore, who plays a disabled character in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...

'' and has a disability himself, argued that disabled actors will always be better placed to play disabled roles due to their life experience. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, critics worried that the "questionable treatment of physical handicaps may leave some viewers with a dim impression." During a panel discussion at the

Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canadian television critics, journalists and columnists who cover television programming for newspapers, magazines and web publications. The TCA accepts app ...

press tour, executive producer Nicky Weinstock defended the choices, claiming that they initially auditioned blind actors, but ultimately cast Perry because she was the best actor for the role.

Filming

Filming Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of Film, motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (o ...

on the pilot began on March 12, 2018, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada; and wrapped on March 28.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

on season 1 began on August 8, 2018, and ended on December 21, 2018. Principal photography for the second season began on August 19, 2019, and ended on January 24, 2020, in

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Filming for the series' third season began on November 2, 2020, and concluded on April 21, 2021. Filming for the fourth season began on November 29, 2021, and concluded on May 31, 2022.

Broadcast

''In the Dark'' premiered on The CW at 9:00 p.m. on April 4, 2019. In Canada, the series premiered on April 4, 2019, on

Bravo! CTV Drama Channel (formerly known as Bravo) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel was founded as the Canadian version of the U.S. channel Bravo (which is now owned by NBCUniversal) on January 1, 1995 b ...

. The series continues to be broadcast on the channel, which is now branded as

CTV Drama Channel CTV Drama Channel (formerly known as Bravo) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel was founded as the Canadian version of the U.S. channel Bravo (which is now owned by NBCUniversal) on January 1, 1995 ...

. In fall 2020, the second season was re-run on

CTV 2 CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cab ...

starting September 15.

Reception

Critical response

, the series holds an approval rating of 73% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 7.16/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Perry Mattfield is compelling as an amateur sleuth ''In the Dark'', although the series' recycling of mystery tropes and questionable treatment of physical handicaps may leave some viewers with a dim impression." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, it has a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ratings

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Notes

References

External links

* * {{The CW programming 2019 American television series debuts 2022 American television series endings 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series 2020s American comedy-drama television series 2020s American crime drama television series 2020s American LGBT-related drama television series English-language television shows Fictional blind characters Television shows about blind people Lesbian-related television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Red Hour Productions Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows filmed in Toronto The CW original programming