The first, and only, series of Kevin Williamsonās thriller drama Stalker came to an end in the UK last night.
If you havenāt seen the first season finale and donāt want any spoilers then we suggest you stop reading now. If you have seen it and want to hear our thoughts then keep reading.
Surviving the 2014-15 TV season hasnāt been easy and a lot of shows have seen the axe fall down on them the past few weeks. When it was announced that Stalker would end after one season, fans werenāt surprised after CBS pulled the showās final three episodes in the US and aired them on a new night following weeks of waiting.
Stalker proved to be a divisive show even before it aired. Critics had sharpened their nails labelling the show misogynistic based off one episode. Those who actually tuned and watched the show, saw quickly that it was a different take on the procedural crime drama with a new case every week and an over-arching storyline that unfolded over the course of the season.
During the finale last night, Threat Assessment Unitās (TAU) Beth (Maggie Q) and Jack (Dylan McDermott) had been helping colleague Vicky (Mira Sorvino) who suspected that her ex-husband may have had something to do with a string of women murdered with links to a sex and love addiction group. As the episode came to an end Vicky was confronted by her ex who pulled a gun on her before the credits arrived and weāll never know what happens next.
Weāre gutted to see the show go so weāve put together our 10 reasons why we should have got another season of Stalker.
1. That cliff-hanger ending. We want to know what happens next. Does Vicky survive the confrontation with her ex? Was he really the serial killer behind all of the murders? Will Beth and Jack get to her in time? We hate not having closure and clearly the show runners thought the show had a strong possibility of getting a season 2.
2. The developing romance between Beth and Jack. The characters have had a love/hate relationship for much of the season but that changed when Jack saved Beth from Ray (Eion Bailey). In the last couple of episodes sparks began to fly and the two shared a couple of smooches. With Maggie Q and Dylan McDermott engaged in real-life, we would have liked to see how this panned out.
3. Bad-ass Janice (Mariana Klaveno). Who didnāt love it when Janice went rogue or was a complete bad-ass. The showās secret weapon, Janice was a feisty character that we completely got on board with. Whether she was hooking up with Jack or protecting Beth, Janice had balls of steel and weāll miss her.
4. More Vicky. It was great seeing Mira Sorvino back on our screens and we loved her as Vicky in the show. Provided she survived the cliff-hanger, we wouldnāt have been unhappy if the character stuck around for the season. She had a good chemistry with Beth and she fit into TAU well.
5. The genuinely creepy cases. Stalker didnāt get it right every week but the majority of the time the cases succeeded in totally creeping us out and we loved it. Kevin Williamson brought a good deal of stalk and slash to the small screen, and we were on the edge of our seats most weeks.
6. More Ben (Victor Rasuk). If there was one character in Stalker that didnāt really get any development, that character was Ben. Aside from being shot, he was pretty surplus to requirements and it felt like he was there to make up numbers rather than serve a purpose. Ben needed to be better integrated and given the same development as Janice.
7. A beefier role for Amanda (Elisabeth Rohm). Weāll admit that the whole āyouāve got 2 weeks Jackā nonsense she spouted for the first few episodes became tedious but once she rebuilt her relationship with Jack she appeared to pretty much disappear. Rohm is a fantastic actress and we had our fingers crossed that sheād get much more to do in season 2.
8. Maggie Q. Sheās one of the best actresses on TV right now and she more than impressed as Beth. Since appearing in Nikita, Maggie has always had us interested in what sheās doing and we loved her as Beth. The character was layered and complicated, and the backstory provided a great arc for the season. Being robbed of more Beth is just cruel!
9. Darker storylines. The best episodes of Stalker were those with a darker tone. The final two episodes were amongst the seasonās best and if anyone knows how to scare the crap out of an audience itās Kevin Williamson. We were looking forward to getting more invested in the characters and exploring the darker side of L.A.
10. Dylan McDermott. The actor has had a bit of an unlucky spell. Following two acclaimed seasons of American Horror Story, McDermott has now been in two shows that have been cancelled back-to-back. First up was Hostages and now Stalker! McDermott is a charismatic actor and he was superb as Jack. Weāre going to miss him on our screen every week but on the plus side maybe he can finally return to American Horror Story?