What is an anthology? An anthology is a series (radio, TV, video games, etc.) that spans different genres and presents a different story with different sets of characters in each new episode, segment, or season. It’s more of a creative structure/style than a genre.
Now, what makes a good anthology series? Every audience has a different preference when it comes to what they watch. Some genres do the anthology style better than others, like suspenseful dramas or crime shows. In January 2023, Fox released a new crime anthology show called Accused.
Accused is a show that “chronicles ordinary people getting caught up in extraordinary situations, where one wrong turn leads to another, until it's too late to turn back,” according to the show’s official synopsis.
Each episode has a new character in a courtroom accused of a crime they may (or may not) have committed. Then the character goes into detail about their side of the story, which is what the viewers experience on screen. Said crimes range from murders to shootings, kidnappings and robberies, and so on. While the show has had mixed reviews, it nails what a crime anthology should be.
A Comfortable Repetitiveness
With any anthology show, the act of something different in each episode can feel (ironically) repetitive. That can cause issues with viewers not getting emotionally attached to characters because they are changing every episode. Or they have a hard time keeping track of certain events and which episode they happened in.
Other viewers take comfort in that repetitiveness. They like that an anthology is different every single time and can watch episodes out of order. Not every anthology can hold audience retention. Some anthology shows, like Black Mirror, do especially well. It’s safe to say that Fox’s Accused is one of those shows as well.
Each episode follows different characters involved in various crimes but starts the same. The beginning of each episode starts with the accused person on trial for a crime they may (or may not) have committed. Then the story of how that person got put on trial follows.
The first episode, for example, follows a father named Scott, who was arrested for potentially helping his son plan a school shooting. Then Scott tells us his side of the story, which is the events we see leading toward his trial. Each episode follows that formula with new characters, a different crime, and events leading up to the trial. It’s a formula that is comfortably repetitive. Yet it still keeps viewers on their toes as they watch the scene unfold.
Doesn’t Focus On the Gore
Crime shows can be gory. Not just in the actual blood and gore sense. Some crime shows can be so disturbing that you have to turn away from your screen. Accused isn’t like that. This crime anthology doesn’t use gore or especially disturbing scenes to add that twist or shock factor.
Of course, this also has to do with the fact that it's Fox network television. So, there will be a limitation on graphic violence as it is. But Accused doesn’t need all that graphic violence to make it a good crime show. We are well aware of what the defendants are being accused of, and they tell their side of the story. Usually, the endings are somewhat happy and in favor of the defendant.
Admittedly, the show can feel a bit fast-paced. With Fox’s Accused being an anthology, you don’t get to spend too much time with the characters and get to know them outside their supposed crime. There’s really not a lot of room to fit graphic violence on screen anyway. But Accused still makes do without it.
The show focuses more on the emotional turmoil of the characters and the events leading to the crime. In some cases, it’s a school shooting, a kidnapping, or (mostly) a murder. But we don’t need to see the actual goriness of the crime to know that it happened. Or that there was a mess left behind. The implications alone are enough.
The Unreliable Narrator
Oh, the trope that you either love or hate. The unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility is compromised. The narrator can range from a child to an adult, no matter what level of maturity.
Accused plays with this trope in later episodes of the first season, even if we don’t always catch it. But if you think about it, technically, this trope could be part of the formula. We can only assume that the defendant is telling the truth in the courtroom. It adds twists and plays with the mystery genre mixed in with crime and drama. The unreliable narrator is a trope that, when done well, can have even the audience bamboozled into believing them if they are in the wrong.
Of course, everyone has their own criticism, opinions, and preferences on shows like Accused. Anthology shows, let alone crime anthologies, are not for everybody. But Accused absolutely masters what a crime anthology show should be. And it is unique, since we are following the culprits and how they got to the courtroom instead of following cops or detectives trying to find the culprit. You can stream the first season of Accused on Hulu and watch it on the Fox network. The show is also being renewed for a second season.