It’s never been more evident how politics, wealth and power intersect within this country. Together, this trifecta allows certain people to maintain control over others. Based on Stephen L. Carter’s best-selling novel and adapted for television by Sherman Payne, MGM+‘s “Emperor of Ocean Park” is a murder mystery about grief — and about how influence can sustain and destroy those who wield it. Though the tone and pacing of the 10-episode series initially stumbles, when it finds its footing in Episode 4, the narrative soars, taking the audience on a unique journey of a family divided by political ideology, secrets and vengeance.
“Emperor of Ocean Park” opens with the death of Judge Oliver Garland (a commanding Forest Whitaker), who has succumbed to an apparent heart attack. A failed conservative nominee to the Supreme Court and a recent far-right political pundit for Fox News, it’s clear, almost immediately, that the judge has plenty of enemies. Still, his sons, Talcott (Grantham Coleman) and Addison (Henry Simmons), are confident their father has died of old age and an ailing heart. However, their sister Mariah (Tiffany Mack) isn’t so sure. Convinced foul play had a hand in the judge’s demise, Mariah starts digging through his affairs. Tal is initially skeptical of his sister’s conspiracy theories, but after receiving a call demanding answers about the judge’s arrangements, he’s compelled to look closer. Almost immediately, his life as a beloved husband, dad and law professor starts imploding around him.
As the show flits between the present and the past, it takes viewers several episodes to get oriented in the world of “Emperor of Ocean Park.” The Chicago-set series slowly reveals what torpedoed Judge Garland’s Supreme Court nomination hearing, the siblings’ dynamics and the varied riddles and clues the judge left in the aftermath of his death. Sharper writing, a tighter edit and stronger supporting actors would’ve eliminated the extraneous exposition burdening the first three chapters while emphasizing the urgency of the situation.
Thankfully, things begin to click into place by the show’s fourth episode, as the unnecessary discourse and random storylines (which will undoubtedly frustrate audiences each week) begin to evaporate. In this episode, Tal and Mariah discover a significant lead, which emboldens them to become more tenacious in their investigation.
“Emperor of Ocean Park” has familiar themes like sibling conflict and parental loss, but two major plot points elevate it. As a far-right conservative, Judge Garland is a pariah in the Black community. Even his children – save the moderate-leaning Mariah – have vastly different politics than he does. The series illustrates how these ideals cause tension among the Garlands, and offers a window into the judge’s beliefs. A man born in the years after World War II, his personal doctrine advocates for Black people winning on their own merits, even if the only way of doing so means working twice as hard. But, as his children try to get him to understand, there is little humanity in self-exploitation while seeking perfection — especially for the historically disadvantaged.
Mariah’s professional and familial trajectory is another arc rarely represented on television. A Pulitzer-Award-winning journalist who lost her job after the 2008 economic crisis, she seems outwardly fulfilled as a stay-at-home mother and wife of a wealthy tycoon, Howard Denton (Bryan Greenberg). Amid her quest to reveal the truth regarding her father’s death, she struggles with the aftereffects of suppressing her own ambitions and settling into a life of comfort that was supposed to bring her contentment. Haunted by her life choices, she allows herself and her brothers to be enveloped in the complex maze of lies, coverups and incidents the judge masterfully began weaving years prior.
Grief is the heartbeat of the “Emperor of Ocean Park.” A core component of the human condition, it’s an emotion everyone experiences, and what we do to move through those feelings often makes us unrecognizable. As the audience is introduced to the judge in the past, the series showcases how his anguish led him down a quest he could never walk back. This same zeal drives the Garland siblings to uncover the mysterious “arrangements” their dad kept secret.
While “Emperor of Ocean Park” starts on a rocky road, with Whitaker as the lead and Coleman, Mack and Simmons carrying the story in the present, the show unfolds like a chess game. As the series opens, none of the characters or storylines are distinct. Yet, as the show rumbles toward its conclusion, the privileged but chaotic world around the Garland family reveals itself, showing the viewer how vital each cryptic hint and clue was from the very beginning.
“Emperor of Ocean Park” premieres July 14 on MGM+ with new episodes dropping weekly on Sundays.
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