32/36

American (English) remake of the French series HPI (2021)

Chronology

It follows Morgan, a single mother of three, who uses her exceptional mind to solve a crime while sorting through evidence during her shift as a cleaner for the police department. Despite her very high IQ, excellent memory, and vast knowledge of the arcana, Morgan makes a number of basic legal mistakes that anyone who has ever watched a TV show about the law would know not to do. In the first episode, for example, she obtains a document from a locked safe in the suspected victim’s law office that would never have been admissible in court: illegally obtained evidence.

Okay, so the series is off to a great start and Kaitlin Olson gives a solid performance

It also could not be used to obtain other evidence: a violation of the “fruit of the poisonous tree” legal doctrine. In episode 2, she has to be reminded to wear gloves before handling evidence at the crime scene, and in #3, she removes all documented evidence from the police station, completely breaking the chain of custody and also making everything she removed no longer admissible in court. HPI Remake (2021).

Episode 3 is where it really derails, and I hope episode 4 really improves

The series is very similar to the TBS series Monk, where a person with borderline Asperger’s helps the police solve crimes. Again, the series is solid so far, but not as bizarre or fun to watch as Monk, but it is a fun watch. In this episode, she is being overly hypocritical and thwarting a case.

Tactics that would invalidate a case

She is collecting evidence from the police station, handling it, and contaminating it. REPERCUSSIONS? None…

Again, I hope she improves with episode 4

It’s almost distracting from how annoying she is in this episode. She shows little to no evidence of self-awareness or contrition for her actions.