Ms. Pink (2024) TV Review
Ms. Pink, the proof of concept for the TV show of the same name, is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Using a crime genre backdrop, the pilot introduces a perfect character that has the potential to turn into something bigger and more compelling with the help of a good script. However, what I was able to see so far is convincing enough to make me expect a twisty plot that will hopefully make good use of its character’s most remarkable feature: humanity.
In the show, writer-director Lauren McCann also plays the title character, Ms. Pink, a bodega worker who tries to make ends meet when she’s forced to play the role of a single mother. Her children aren’t exactly in tune with her, but she manages to tuck them in at night.
As a side gig, the woman is trying to join a society of criminals as an assassin-for-hire. Whether you buy into this storyline, it’s completely up to you, considering the pilot’s duration. However, McCann does an excellent job of using every second to make you enter a world in which you believe her cause. She’s charming enough to convince a victim but also to convince you that she’s able to do it.
Yes, it’s a work of passion, as Ms. Pink has to be better edited, the sound mix could use some work, and its conclusion is way too cryptic. But there’s something here to be further developed. It also depends on your coping with a genre that takes liberties to portray its characters as superheroes with twisted ethics and morals, to which you shouldn’t ask too many questions. Ms. Pink is no John Wick, but their characters seem to be driven by something primal that makes humans the perfect predator, whether we like it or not.
Sometimes, it’s all about inspiration, and Ms. Pink has plenty of that. The female-driven TV pilot offers the usual conundrums of revenge and crime films and even uses some experimental techniques to make the story much more original than it needs to be. This is where McCann stands out in her ability to make the pilot a personal creation that speaks widely about her drive to tell stories, even in a limited setting like a TV show, which, yes, is cinematic, but some rules change from a feature film. She makes me want to see more of Ms. Pink.
But again, it’s all because in a space of less than 15 minutes, I was able to connect with her cocky but brave character and she made me forget about the questions I had about her ethics. Her scene with the children was convincing enough to make me think this is just a mother trying to make ends meet. Even if that implies some killing.
The pilot for Ms. Pink premieres today at Dances with Films, Los Angeles’ largest indie film festival. The event will take place at TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California.
