Usually, when a show is cancelled by a streaming service after just one season, it’s not a good sign. But when another streamer instantly jumps in and picks it up, it often means someone might have made a mistake. We saw that already on our Weekly Binge with Girls 5Eva, which was dropped by Peacock, only to be picked up by Netflix, where it has found a much larger and devoted audience. I believe Peacock just didn’t know what they had, and it took Netflix to figure it out.
In the case of another series, The Tourist, which ran on MAX for one season back in 2022 (back when it was HBO MAX) but then was dropped, only to be picked up by Netflix for its
second season, which premiered back in February, I believe the reason was a little more content-driven. (Or maybe Netflix just has so much coin, it can afford to go around sweeping up everyone else’s castoffs. Who knows.)
The Tourist is a thriller about an Irish man, played by Jamie Dornan, who gets into a car crash in the middle of the Australian outback and wakes up with no memory of who he is or why he’s there. He is reluctant to accept the help of Probationary Constable Helen Chambers, an enthusiastic and ambitious young policewoman, played by Danielle Macdonald, and sets out to put the pieces of his life together. The only problem is, every clue he comes across is yet another puzzle piece in a picture that grows more and more dangerous and ominous. The man is in a race to figure out who he is before his troubled and violent past catches up with him.
Here’s the thing about The Tourist: I cannot recommend the first six episodes (season one) enough. They are absolutely riveting and put you on the edge of your seat. The performances are great, the story zips along, and the mystery unfurls with perfect pace and it’s exciting and captivating all at once.
The problem is, the concept runs out of road a bit in the second set of six episodes, which is season two. This is probably why HBO MAX dropped it, and the reason I have taken so long to recommend it, but, considering how many bad or average shows there are out there, The Tourist is still worth watching, because of its strong first season.
Don’t get me wrong, the second season is fine, it’s just that the first season set such a high standard, it would have been hard to maintain it. Plus, let’s be honest, they can only string out the whole memory loss thing so far…once he gets his memory back, the show isn’t as unique or captivating. Once he gets his memory back, the show turns into something much more familiar, but it’s still, as I said, better than 90% of what’s out there.
What makes The Tourist so good is not just the story, it’s the great performances, notably from Dornan, who is developing into a really good actor, and the amazing Macdonald, who, admittedly, I probably only love so much because she reminds me SO MUCH of Merritt Wever. Macdonald holds her own with Dornan, and injects a needed groundedness, humor and innocence into this otherwise dark and violent story. It’s also worth mentioning the great Damon Herriman, who has been popping up in almost every series I’ve been watching. He’s been in Justified, Mr. Inbetween and now The Tourist, and he’s different and exceptional in each one. There are certainly worse things you could do than have a Damon Herriman binge fest.
In the end, The Tourist does weaken as it goes on, there’s no denying that, but it is worth watching for how great it begins, and it makes up for how it ends with all the good will it earns in the beginning. If you enjoy thrillers with an edge and a lot of comedy, The Tourist is right up your alley. Also worth mentioning is the location: it doesn’t get more Australian than this show. If you love tales unfurling with the dusty landscape of the Australian outback as the setting, The Tourist is for you.