Of all the comic books I was reading in the 2010s, “Stumptown” would not have been high on my list of the most likely to get a TV adaptation. But the charming private-investigator series by writer Greg Rucka and artists Matthew Southworth and Justin Greenwood turned out to be the perfect source material for an equally charming ABC crime procedural.
Starring Cobie Smulders as Portland-based private detective Dex Parios, “Stumptown” aired for just a single season starting in 2019, with a planned second season ultimately canceled because of COVID-related delays. It’s now a hidden gem in one of the most durable TV genres, and with the recent success of shows like “Tracker” and “High Potential,” it’s primed for rediscovery by fans of quirky detective series.
Thanks to Tubi, that’s now easy to do, since the entire 18-episode series is currently streaming for free.
‘Stumptown’ is a procedural with personality
At its core, the concept of “Stumptown” is pretty familiar. Dex is a military veteran who’s been leading a fairly aimless life until she’s hired to find the missing granddaughter of Native American casino mogul Sue Lynn Blackbird (Tantoo Cardinal) and discovers that she has a knack for solving crimes that the cops won’t bother with.
She sets up her own business and works out of a bar run by her ex-con best friend Grey McConnell (Jake Johnson). It’s a durable premise that has been successful on network TV for decades, and creator Jason Richman sticks to what works while adding in some distinctive touches.
Many of those elements come from the source material, including the Portland setting at the intersection of hipsters and outlaws. Grey is a reformed car thief who’s also a beer expert, and one of Dex’s regular contacts for underworld information is fusion food truck chef Tookie (Adrian Martinez). The first episode opens with a pair of thugs analyzing the origins of a particular type of coffee, while Dex is trapped in the trunk of their car. Although most of it was filmed elsewhere, “Stumptown” still captures the offbeat nature of the city whose nickname gives the show its title.
Smulders brings the right balance of grit and snark to the role of Dex, drawing on her action experience as Maria Hill from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and her comedy chops from her time on “How I Met Your Mother.” A veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan, Dex is plagued by PTSD that often catches her off guard, but the show doesn’t wallow in her trauma, and neither does she.
Befitting her comic-book origins, she’s handy with a quip when taking on adversaries, but she’s not a one-dimensional warrior. She’s a chaotic bisexual with a messy personal life, including periodically hooking up with Det. Miles Hoffman (Michael Ealy), a local cop who often helps her with cases.
‘Stumptown’ builds an intriguing, off-kilter underworld
Like a lot of modern procedurals, “Stumptown” combines individual cases with ongoing narratives, as Dex looks into the death of her boyfriend Benny while they were both deployed in Afghanistan. Benny was Sue Lynn’s son, and Dex forms an uneasy alliance with both Sue Lynn and the Confederated Tribes, as their interests only sometimes align.
Although it’s not as detailed as a show like “Dark Winds,” “Stumptown” offers a nuanced look at the relationship between local law enforcement and the semi-autonomous tribal enterprises, and Cardinal gives a sensitive performance as Sue Lynn, who does what’s necessary to get by.
Grey also ends up tangled in troubles from his past, as he’s drawn back in by his old criminal associates and his deadbeat grifter dad. Even when things get intense, though, “Stumptown” offers up entertainingly lively cases, and Dex solves mysteries for a TV judge, a strip club owner, and her rock-star ex-girlfriend, among other eccentric clients. Dex and Grey have fairly frequent fights, but their friendship endures, and Richman resists the easy route of pairing them up romantically.
Dex also takes care of her younger brother Ansel (Cole Sibus), who has Down syndrome but is never treated as an opportunity for heavy-handed life lessons. He’s an integral part of Dex’s life, and he even gets his own romantic subplot later in the season.
The bond among the main characters is genuine and sweet without becoming sappy, and the season ends with plenty of potential for future storylines, even after going through most of the material from the short-lived comic-book series. At the same time, it leaves Dex and her friends and associates in a satisfying place, hanging out at Grey’s Bad Alibi bar and ready for whatever strange adventure Portland throws at them next.
Stream “Stumptown” on Tubi now for free
