Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

TV-14

An ambitious and absurdist series with a surprisingly humane touch

7.2

TV Show

United States of America
English
Comedy, Crime, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Science Fiction
2016
Aaron Douglas, Agam Darshi, Ajay Friese
42 min

What it's about

A comedic thriller that follows the bizarre adventures of eccentric “holistic” detective Dirk Gently and his reluctant assistant Todd. An adaptation of Douglas Adams’ wildly successful comic novels.

The take

Dirk Gently is not an easy watch. Right from the get-go, it comes bursting with wild mysteries, supernatural elements, cartoonish developments, and very loose ends. But there's something to be said about its inexplicability. It doesn't dumb things down or mold itself into anything recognizable, and that ambitious feat alone makes it a standout in a sea of TV replicas. It is its own weird thing, and it's hard not to like that about the show.

The characters seem random at first, but they will disarm you with their unexpected humanity. The titular Dirk Gently, for instance, initially comes off as a Doctor Who-like know-it-all, but underneath his chirpy facade is a hurt man who longs for connection. Inversely, his accomplice Todd Brotzman may seem like a typical nice guy, but his darker nature reveals itself incrementally and rather smartly. 

This is a show that requires you to trust the process, to believe in "holism" as they say (aka the interconnectedness of everything, even the most seemingly random thing), and the sooner you submit to that belief, the easier and ultimately enjoyable the show gets. 

Comments

Add a comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

More like this in

Pretend it’s a City

A wildly entertaining series of interviews with a New York legend

9.2

Catch Me A Killer

A sturdy police procedural based on the first profiler in South Africa

7.1

Wild Wild Country

Almost too outrageous to be true – this captivating true crime docuseries tells the unlikely story of an Indian cult in America

9.8

Unbelievable

Critics lauded the angle and feminist edge of this grim true crime miniseries.

8.8

Feel Good

A charming Fleabag-esque take on LGBTQ+ love

7.0

Sex Education

Already a future classic, Sex Education is an explicit but endlessly charming teen comedy that will also teach adults a thing or two.

8.9

My Undead Yokai Girlfriend

Japanese yokai meets shy, geeky college kid in this hilarious horror romcom series

7.8

Patriot

This unique anti-spy drama is one of Amazon Prime's hidden gems

9.0

Over the Garden Wall

In this charming animated miniseries, two half-brothers try to find their way back home after getting lost in a supernatural forest

8.6

Flowers

Carving out a genre of its own, enter the most unusual sitcom you have ever watched.

8.3

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.