New to Lightbox in April

Today Lightbox will premiere a crime anthology series from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail.

Variety says Briarpatch combines “some of the visual and narrative excess of Mr. Robot with the clean lines and emphasis on memorable characters” of a Suits:

Anchored by a strong Rosario Dawson performance and flavoured with wit and a real sense of place, Briarpatch is a charmer: It keeps those aspects of Mr. Robot that were most audience-friendly, and jettisons the rest — further proof, after last year’s Amazon series Homecoming, that Esmail is a talent capable of evolution and of growth.

The Hollywood Reporter was less charmed: “Maybe Briarpatch will become trippier and stranger as it establishes its footing. Or maybe it will become funnier, sexier and more viscerally compelling. It’s currently stuck somewhere in the middle, not really all that satisfying but not without potential.”

Based on the Ross Thomas novel of the same name, it follows Dawson’s determined investigator, Allegra Dill, as she returns to her hometown to investigate the murder of her sister.

Her relentless search for the killer pits her against powerful enemies as she fights for the truth in a corrupt Texas border-town brimming with lies.

Jay R. Ferguson (Mad Men), Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class), Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker), Kim Dickens (Sons of Anarchy) star.

The first eight episodes of season one drop 6.00 tonight, with eps 9 and 10 being added weekly.

Lightbox also has sourced the outstanding true-crime drama, White House Farm. It originally aired this year on Sky’s SoHo and can be streamed as a box set from April 29.

Based on the murder of five family members in an Essex farm house 35 years ago, it stars Freddie Fox (The Three Musketeers), Alexa Davies (Harlots), Mark Addy (Game of Thrones) and Stephen Graham (Save Me).

Lightbox’s other April highlights will include:

• Miss Scarlett & the Duke (weekly from April 15)
• Futureman S3 (April 4)
• The Resident S2 (April 21)

And these movie rentals: