Review: 'Lodge 49'

 

My favorite British television shows are ones like "The Detectorists," these little slices of life that on their face don't seem to have much going on from episode to episode. But the best of the shows create these quiet, quirky snapshots of the lives most of us encounter every day. People going through the motions, trying to make the best of bad breaks while grabbing as much fun as they can along the way.

So when I say that AMC's new series "Lodge 49" is a show in which nothing big ever seems to happen, I mean that as the supreme compliment. Created and written by author Jim Gavin, "Lodge 49" creates this unique little world that is both familiar and surprising - often in the same scene.

The series centers on Sean "Dud" Dudley (Wyatt Russell), an ex-surfer who is more loser than lovable. His recent life has been a series of mishaps and disappointments, from the recent death of his beloved father to a surfing trip to Nicaragua that ended with a snake bite and a permanent limp. He's lost and while he has that Lebowski-esque optimism that can be charming, he is mostly just living each day as it comes.

Things are nearly so happy for his twin sister Liz (Sonya Cassidy), a cynical ex-paralegal who made the mistake of co-signing for an $80,000 for her father, who then proceeded to die in an as-yet unexplained ocean-related "accident." Liz is now making ends meet as an underpaid waitress at a schoolgirl-themed Hooters knock-off and it's an understatement to say that she's had enough of the world in general and Dud specifically.

Dud's life changes when he is metal detecting on the beach and finds a ring belonging to a mysterious fraternal lodge called the Ancient and Benevolent Order of the Lynx. When his Volkswagen Thing dies in front of the lodge, Dud takes it as a sign and soon becomes captivated by the lodge's myriad tales of mystery and vague metaphors. 

I've watched the entire first season and I can't point to any one moment where I can say "this is the scene to watch for." But I can tell you that you'll enjoy going along for the ride with this oddly endearing and quirky group of people. "Lodge 49" is a show more about the journey than the destination and all I can promise is that at the very least you'll never think of Long Beach in the same way again.

"Lodge 49" premieres on AMC on Monday, August 6th, 2018.