McDreamy has returned to network TV — but this time, he’s your worst McNightmare. “Memory of a Killer,” which premiered Sunday on Fox, stars Patrick Dempsey (“Grey’s Anatomy”) as Angelo Flannery, a high-priced hitman masquerading as a mild-mannered photocopier salesman.
Part of the fun for longtime “Grey’s Anatomy” fans is seeing the former TV doctor doing “something completely different from what he’s mostly known for,” executive producer Aaron Zelman tells TVLine. “I think that was a big reason for his interest in this.”
Neither Angelo’s mob “family” in Manhattan, led by his life-long pal Dutch (Michael Imperioli), nor his actual family in the suburbs, which includes his pregnant daughter Maria (Odeya Rush), have any knowledge about his double life. Angelo is meticulous in his efforts to keep those two worlds separate, leaving us with only one question: How does this guy sleep at night?
“In addition to being a bit of an action thriller, this show is a character exploration,” Zelman says. “What kind of person would be capable of living such a complete double life? We were fascinated by that question.”
The only person who knows the truth is Angelo’s brother, who resides in a memory care facility for Alzheimer’s. His non-verbal demeanor makes him the perfect sounding board for Angelo, which is a devastating reality for both parties involved. Still, we have to wonder — could Angelo’s seemingly safe confessions come back to bite him somehow?
“It’s a great question,” Zelman says. “You have to be careful who you tell your secrets to. This is certainly a concern that some people in Angelo’s orbit have concerns about, which is something you learn about further into the season.”
How much can Angelo and Dutch trust each other?
In the first episode, Angelo learns that one of his recent victims was the brother of crime family captain Carl Mosher, and now he believes that Mosher is seeking revenge, a fear that only grows stronger when Angelo spots a familiar truck driving by his daughter’s house in the ‘burbs. Adding to Angelo’s paranoia, he learns that the man responsible for his wife’s hit-and-run death — a man who swore vengeance on Maria for testifying against him at his trial — has been released from prison.
The Mosher situation signals the first sign of tension between Angelo and Dutch, as Angelo feels that Dutch should have told him he’d been hired to take out a crime boss’ brother. Dutch then forbids Angelo from going after the living Mosher, dropping this not-so-friendly warning: “You cross me on this, you’re on your own.”
“We found it to be a really compelling dynamic between these two,” executive producer Aaron Zelman says of Angelo and Dutch. “They’ve known each other since childhood, but there are all kinds of questions there about what how they came to know each other. You learn more about those circumstances as the season goes on. You’ll learn what each character feels they owe the other, and you’ll question how much each character can trust the other.”
But Angelo doesn’t listen, instead beating Mosher to death in broad daylight, then joining Maria and her husband for brunch like absolutely nothing happened. That’s when all hell breaks loose: a sniper targets Maria from across the street, and Angelo barely knocks her out of the way in time to avoid getting shot. Armed with only a broken bottle, Angelo runs into the street to catch the mystery hitman, but he’s long gone. What. A. Day.
How Memory of a Killer handles Alzheimer’s
But wait, there’s even more to the story here: Having seen his brother develop and battle Alzheimer’s, Angelo becomes acutely aware of similar symptoms that he’s displaying himself, from forgetting his apartment’s security password to accidentally putting his gun in the refrigerator — the latter of which led to a very awkward morning-after moment with a spooked bartender named Nicky (Michaela McManus).
As for how the show approaches the topic of Alzheimer’s, executive producer Aaron Zelman says, “It was very important to us, and Patrick as well, that we show this in a way that is accurate. We have a neurologist who is a consultant for the show, and we run all of the the dialogue — anything that involves doctors explaining things — by her, and it all checks out. Making sure that the symptoms themselves are portrayed accurately is also very important to us.”
What to expect from Gina Torres in Episode 2
Moving forward, protecting his double life will no longer be the only concern on Angelo’s ever-growing list. Episode 2 (airing Monday, January 26 at 9 p.m. ET) introduces recent “9-1-1: Lone Star” vet Gina Torres as FBI Agent Linda Grant. And if you’ve ever seen Torres in literally anything, you already know what Angelo will soon learn — any character she plays is a force to be reckoned with.
“Look, she’s an FBI agent, and our protagonist — or whatever you want to call him, an anti-hero — is someone who regularly kills people and breaks the law,” Aaron Zelman reminds us. As for Agent Grant, “it’s unclear what game she may be playing, but she seems to be sniffing out that there’s something off about Angelo. She’s a dog with a bone, she’s not going to let this go easily. She’s going to be one of the many thorns in Angelo’s side all throughout the season.”
OK, let’s talk: Was “Memory of a Killer” right on target for you, or was this a total miss? Grade the premiere in our poll below, then drop a comment with your full review.
