{"id":97871,"date":"2025-10-25T20:50:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T20:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/97871\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T20:50:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T20:50:16","slug":"timothy-olyphants-full-circle-is-hbos-best-kept-secret-of-the-2020s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/97871\/","title":{"rendered":"Timothy Olyphant’s Full Circle Is HBO’s Best-Kept Secret of the 2020s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Full Circle is a great mystery crime thriller miniseries that premiered on HBO<\/a>‘s streaming service in 2023, and remains one of the company’s best-kept secrets of the decade so far. It was created and written by Ed Solomon, best known for Men in Black and the Bill & Ted franchise, and directed by Steven Soderbergh, one of the most praised contemporary filmmakers in the world. The star-studded cast brings impressive performances, and includes Zazie Beets, Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant and Dennis Quaid.<\/p>\n

The show received generally favorable reviews, but failed to make a mark in the crowded streaming landscape. It had the potential to become HBO’s next big hit in prestige television \u2014 be the new True Detective, their greatest achievement in the crime thriller genre yet \u2014 but has become more of a hidden gem for those looking for a show beyond the top-performing on the platform these days. With only six episodes, it’s a great option for a binge-watch over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Full Circle Was Created by Ed Solomon and Directed by Steven Soderbergh<\/p>\n

\"Zazie
\n Zazie Beetz is on the case in Full CircleImage via HBO<\/p>\n

Steven Soderbergh has been pretty busy in recent years, and 2023 was particularly productive for the director. Just that year, he released the third and final installment of his successful franchise, Magic Mike, titled Magic Mike’s Last Dance, and the miniseries Command Z and Full Circle. Soderbergh is known for balancing the two sides of the craft: a more experimental style in some creations, in contrast with others that follow a traditional studio-system approach. The two 2023 miniseries he directed are great examples of this balance. Command Z is an independent science fiction web series that challenges genre expectations, while Full Circle is an HBO production<\/a> with all the expected traits in crime thriller television, from the script to the soundtrack, cinematography, and editing.<\/p>\n

Soderbergh shows genuine appreciation for both the traditional and the experimental approaches to filmmaking. Full Circle was co-produced by Soderbergh’s own company, Extension 765, and he was responsible for executive producing on top of being the director, cinematographer, and editor of the project. With his growing control over his own productions, even when creating for big companies like HBO, the director has chosen to be his own cinematographer and editor on most occasions. It has been the tendency for him to do so whenever possible since the early days of his career. Of the three productions he released in 2023, he was the cinematographer of all three and the editor of two. Many fans may not have noticed that, since Soderbergh signs his work in these fields as Peter Andrews and Mary Ann Bernard, respectively.<\/p>\n

Full Circle may follow a predictable style for crime thriller TV in general, but Soderbergh still plays around with some unusual choices in the cinematography specifically. The most tense moments are shot with hand-held cameras, which mostly follow characters from a low angle, creating frames that often show a part of the ceiling. This choice creates the visual effect of entrapment and exhaustion of options, as it can also be an analogy to how the protagonists are frantic, constantly “hitting the roof” and making things worse for themselves.<\/p>\n

Soderbergh’s work is worthy of high praise, yet it is actually the original idea and script by Ed Solomon that makes Full Circle truly stand out among so many similar shows. Even though some critics have stated the opposite, citing how Soderbergh makes a rather poorly-written story work, it can be argued that no director can salvage a deeply flawed plot. This is Soderbergh\u2019s third collaboration with Solomon, after the 2021 movie No Sudden Move<\/a> and the 2018 miniseries Mosaic, and it’s by far their best one as a writer-director duo yet. Solomon’s script for Full Circle is not stainless, but the story brings up emotional conflicts far greater than what the plot reveals on its surface, evoking the same core message found in Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 masterpiece High and Low.<\/p>\n

The exploration of how social inequality is behind people’s motivations, regardless of whether that means maintaining privileges as part of the upper class or trying to circle around oppression as part of the lower class, creates a narrative depth that makes each episode of Full Circle stay with viewers long after the credits roll. The show is constantly making the point that choosing right from wrong within a corrupted system depends solely on the individual’s morality. From the moral crisis that pushes Natalia and Louis into sabotaging a planned murder despite the consequences, to the moment Sam finally decides to take some accountability for her actions from twenty years prior, the script seems to ask the same question to each character: “Do you want to maintain the stability you know today, or to be able to look at yourself in the mirror tomorrow?”<\/p>\n

Natalia, Louis and Xavier Stand Out Among Full Circle\u2019s Many Protagonists<\/p>\n

\"Sheyi
\n Sheyi Cole, Gerald Jones and Adia as Guyanese immigrants in Full CircleImage via HBO<\/p>\n

One of the most impressive achievements in Full Circle is how well the show balances the several different storylines, slowly revealing the connections between the characters. There are three major divisions within the ensemble cast: the targeted family, the criminals, and the officers investigating the botched kidnapping. But these groups are also divided within. The family is plagued with internal conflicts, a result of decades of secrets kept from each other. The criminals are sabotaged by some of their own associates, a betrayal that influences a complex chain of events within their ranks. And the law-enforcement division at the Postal Service is so chaotic, that Zazie Beetz<\/a>‘s Mel Harmony needs to investigate her own boss. As the viewer follows the drama in each subplot, they uncover the mystery of what connects them along with Mel.<\/p>\n

Beetz’s character, a postal inspector with an unhealthy obsession with her work, is the equivalent of True Detective’s Rust Cohle. She has questionable morals, a long history of going rogue, but she is ultimately an ineffective character within the category of anti-hero. This is a common trope in the crime thriller genre because it’s effective, but Mel isn’t a likable character at all, as any anti-hero must be to some degree.<\/p>\n

With Matthew McConaughey’s Rust Cohle, the viewer is hooked by how complex he is, which includes some redeemable qualities that are enough to overlook his flaws. He is honest, but he is not always serious. He is often right, but he does not seek the approval of his peers. His quirks and his antisocial behavior are part of his charm as an anti-hero, which is essential in order to make a story like True Detective Season 1<\/a> work. That was needed in Full Circle as well, but Mel has no quirks and no positive traits beyond being a good detective. Her neglect of her own life and relationships is not even a source of consequential conflict for her character, which is definitely a flaw in writing. Mel properly apologizing to Carol, for example, could have given her some redemption. Instead, she is consistently portrayed as a selfish and unreasonable woman who gets work done mostly through persistence, rather than intelligence.<\/p>\n

A strong suit of the script is how each episode contains a few plot twists, and they mostly serve to enrich the personalities of the protagonists. Natalia and Louis are the most naive, and the only ones trying to do the right thing for morality’s sake \u2014 because even the main investigator, Mel, is only working that hard for the sake of not losing her job after a series of grave errors. It can be unnerving to see Natalia and Louis making unexpected decisions while improvising a major betrayal, but they represent some hope that not all people are bad in this world. The morally gray area of Xavier’s actions, torn between choosing right from wrong at each step of his eventful storyline, makes his story the most interesting to watch. In fact, the major revelation about the family’s involvement in the Guyana land theft case feels far less impactful than the moment Xavier finally chooses to help Natalia and Louis escape from New York.<\/p>\n

The dynamic between the members of the Browne-McCusker family is a major focus in Full Circle, with their contrasting personalities being the main reason for their constant state of conflict. While simpler crime thrillers with family plots tend to single out one of the family members as the source of all problems, this show follows a more complex approach, similar to Succession’s<\/a>, in which every member of such a powerful family must carry some of their collective guilt. Characters like Jeff and Jared serve to illustrate how even being clueless about their privileges plays a part in the guilt they all carry.<\/p>\n

In contrast, more weak spots are evident when analyzing the lack of consequences and conclusions in the subplots. For example, Nicky and Cherisse finally speaking to Derek, or Jeff visiting Clarence at the hospital while unaware that his chess pal was the one who planned his grandson’s kidnapping for revenge, were interesting plot points that were ultimately abandoned. Another major weakness is how anticlimactic it feels to finally understand what prompted the “circle” planned by Ms. Mahabir. A six-episode mystery is untangled all at once, and culminates in a boring conversation between Sam and Mel in the hospital. Yet, regardless of any frustration the viewer might experience, Full Circle is still worth watching for its ambitious production and clever writing. It may not be flawless, but it is definitely HBO’s best-kept secret in recent years.<\/p>\n

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Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t2023 – 2023-00-00<\/p>\n

Network<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHBO, Max<\/p>\n

Showrunner<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEd Soloman<\/p>\n

Directors<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSteven Soderbergh<\/p>\n

Writers<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEd Soloman<\/p>\n

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Zazie Beetz<\/p>\n

\n Inspector Melody Harmony\n <\/p>\n

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Jim Gaffigan<\/p>\n

\n Manny Broward\n <\/p>\n

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\n \"max_logo.jpg\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"hbo-on-hulu-logo.jpg\"<\/p>\n

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