5 Things I Want to See in “The Purge” TV Series
So “The First Purge” was peppered with good ideas (glowing contact lenses, on-point political commentary) but it was largely forgettable for me, mostly in the way that it too closely resembled the 2nd and 3rd entry with its focus on action over tension.
However, the most exciting part was undeniably the post-credits scene, which was really just a commercial for the upcoming USA mini-series.I don’t consider any of the Purge films to be GOOD, strictly speaking, but I find the premise endlessly compelling.
Now that the narrative has a little more room to breathe with a ten episode run, plus the constraints of television budgets forcing them to dial down the scale, here are 5 things I hope the show explores in greater detail.
As a huge fan of courtroom dramas, I think it would be fascinating to see how the justice system is impacted before and after a Purge. What would happen if a crime, like arson, begins during the Purge but ends after the twelve hours are up? Could someone be prosecuted for premeditating a murder, since technically that act was done before the Purge had begun? These are just a few of the complications that I would find intriguing.
One of my favorite things about the prequel was the fact that the series finally acknowledged that there are a lot more illegal activities people would commit before murder. Public sex, harmless vandalism, and a whole lot of partying takes center stage. But what about bestiality? Or copyright infringement? Or assisted suicide? Or medical experimentation? Any one of these non-gory acts of “Purging” would be enough to fascinate me for an entire episode.
They might be saving this one for a movie when Trump eventually gets voted out/impeached, but in “Purge: Election Year”, they tease that even though the newly elected President Roan puts an end to the violent ritual, there are still factions of NFFA loyalists who are committing violence. Do they host their own unofficial Purges in rural towns? How does a nation move on after such a grisly tradition has run its course? Does the country actually get worse?
Media/Government Manipulation
It was really disheartening to see the Fox News-esque reports exaggerating the violence on Staten Island in order to paint a specific picture to the public. I would love to see this be feature more heavily into the mini-series, especially now that “Fake News” has become such a crucial concept for this generation. How do politicians spin facts for or against The Purge? How do talk shows treat the subject of “cathartic violence?” Are there Purge video games? Just how the Purge is perceived, and how that perception is crafted, is a wellspring of story.
Experimentation with Genre and Setting
I feel like keeping every Purge a strictly survival story is a waste of this series’ potential. How about a dark comedy in which a group of friends experiment with drugs at a “Purge Party” and things go awry? Or a high school drama in which inner city teachers deal with the aftermath of a night of lawlessness? Or even a romance story in which two young star-crossed lovers use the Purge to defy restraining orders set up by their parents and be together for one night a year? Heck, I would even love a documentary style episode. You could go for seasons and seasons, and I’d watch every episode.
What would you like to see?
