'Briarpatch' Trailer: Rosario Dawson Solves Murders And Pets Giraffes In USA's Crime Anthology Series

By Hoai-Tran BuiAug. 27, 2019 1:30 pm EST

Rosario Dawson dons a severe haircut and bright, tailored blazors to solve her sister's murder in the oh-so-stylish Briarpatch, USA Network's upcoming mystery-thriller anthology series executive produced by Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail and written and executive produced by Andy Greenwald. The first season, based on the Ross Thomas novel of the same name, comes to USA in 2020. Watch the Briarpatch trailer below.

Briarpatch Trailer

Rosario Dawson is here to find her sister's killer and pet giraffes, and she's all out of giraffes. Don't worry, the animals are (mostly) all right in the stylish, darkly comic thriller series that follows Allegra Dill (Dawson) who returns to her hometown of Saint Disgrace to investigate the murder of her sister, who died in a fiery automobile explosion. Dawson follows the breadcrumbs of her sister's probably murder, only to be met with a corrupt town, the occasional loose zoo animal and a cast of colorful characters, which includes Kim Dickens, Jay R. Ferguson, Brian Geraghty, Edi Gathegi, Alan Cumming, and Ed Asner.

Here is the synopsis of Ross Thomas' 1984 novel, which originally starred a male protagonist:

"A long-distance call from a Texas city on his birthday gives Benjamin Dill the news that his sister– it' s her birthday, too, they were born exactly ten years apart– has died in a car bomb explosion. It' s the chief of police calling– Felicity Dill worked for him; she was a homicide detective. Dill is there that night, the beginning of his dogged search for her killer. What he finds is no surprise to him, because Benjamin Dill is never surprised at what awful things people will do– but it' s a real surprise to the reader."

Though Esmail only executive produces the series, the sharp, severe style of Mr. Robot is all over Briarpatch, which uses strange imagery of loose zoo animals and a bright saturated color scheme to further unnerve you. It's promising stuff, made even more intriguing by the fact that the pilot was directed by Ana Lily Amirpour (The Bad Batch) and produced by Dawson.

The first two episodes of the series will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, and the show will start airing on USA in early 2020.