In the dark comedy thriller Bodkin, a group of podcasters arrive at an idyllic Irish town hoping to uncover the truth behind a long-forgotten disappearance, only to be confronted with a mystery bigger than they ever imagined. A joint production between Netflix and Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, this series delivers an engrossing mystery enveloped in Irish culture and humor that occasionally leans into stereotypes. As the truth behind the puzzle of Bodkin is slowly revealed, the unique eccentricities of its population come to the forefront as it becomes obvious that everyone has something to hide.
Bodkin is set in a fictional West Cork town where three people vanished 27 years before, and the truth behind their disappearances was never discovered. When Gilbert (Will Forte), an American podcaster with Irish roots, Dove (Siobhán Cullen), an investigative journalist from Dublin, and Emmy (Robyn Cara), an ambitious researcher, start asking questions, the residents of Bodkin make it clear they would rather let the past be the past. As the group continues to push for information, they find this is far from a cold case, but every answer they discover brings up more questions.
The seven-episode series was created by Jez Scharf and executive produced by the Obamas as Higher Ground’s first scripted series after previously producing acclaimed politically charged documentaries like American Factory. While the studio has branched out to feature films such as the biographical drama Rustin, Bodkin is uncharted territory for the company and signals a move toward more mainstream productions without as strong of a political slant. Bodkin bodes well for this new direction. Although it does not live up to mystery thrillers like Broadchurch or The Night Of, Bodkin’s blend of comedy and drama make it stand out.
While Bodkin is based around a long-dormant mystery that begs to be solved, the true driving force of the series is the conflicting philosophies of Gilbert and Dove. Gilbert is a cheery optimist whose podcasting style is to become a part of the community and, through friendship and trust, gain insight into the town’s secrets. In contrast, Dove is a hardened political reporter with difficulties forming positive relationships, who would much rather squeeze the truth out of a source than wait for them to share.
Gilbert and Dove’s conflicting work ethic is a major source of tension as they struggle to work together and solve Bodkin’s mystery effectively. Forte channels his comedic skill and previous experience on Saturday Night Live to make Gilbert a likable, albeit often gullible, protagonist, while Cullen’s character is often so brash, pessimistic, and impulsive as to be somewhat off-putting. Dove does improve throughout the series, but there are occasions where it’s unclear how the audience should feel about her as she dismisses her colleagues and comes across as rather rude and unlikable.
The other central throughline of Bodkin is its residents, who include secretive nuns, psychopathic fishermen, a tech millionaire, and everybody in between. Even the police seem to be holding something back, so part of the fun of watching Bodkin is analyzing each character and trying to decipher the meaning behind their words and how their secretive nature plays into the mysterious disappearance from so many years before. Some of the show’s funniest moments come from these residents, as their unique mannerisms give Bodkin its distinct style.
The mystery of Bodkin revolves around the ancient Irish festival of Samhain, which the village has not celebrated since the disappearances. This is not the only way that Bodkin utilizes Irish culture and heritage, as throughout the series, there are many references to Irish mythology, Guinness drinking, Sean-nós singing, and just about every other Irish stereotype out there. While the use of Irish culture as the backdrop of Netflix projects has failed in the past, like in the inaccurate depiction of Ireland in Linsday Lohan’s Irish Wish, in Bodkin, the writers seem to have done their research.
The best thing about Bodkin is its tone, as it walks the notoriously fine line between comedy and drama, which, if not done correctly, could have felt more like a parody than a compelling thriller. Overall, it can’t be denied that Bodkin works better as a mystery than a comedy, but the way the series uses humor to draw us in before keeping us hooked on a perplexing crime must be commended. The writing and intrigue of Bodkin are quite strong, but not every joke lands as well as intended, and occasionally, these conflicting genres clash with one another.
It’s impossible to talk about Bodkin without referring to a real-life Irish coastal mystery that must have influenced the creator and writers. Bodkin has several parallels to the case of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, who, in 1996, was killed outside her holiday home in West Cork and decades later became the subject of a podcast series called West Cork. While the mystery seen in Bodkin is quite different from this real-life case, much of the dialogue surrounding “blow-ins” and a small Irish town where everybody seems to have a secret is noticeably similar.
Bodkin is a strong debut for Higher Ground in the realm of scripted series, and if they maintain this high level of production value, they will surely keep their reputation as one of Netflix’s most exciting collaborators. Forte, Cullen, and the supporting cast give strong performances that make Bodkin feel like a lived-in world with an intriguing history. While the tonal inconsistencies and the occasionally convoluted mystery mean Bodkin is not among the very best of its genre, it’s a worthy addition to the world of mystery thrillers, and its comedic charm gives it a unique edge.