Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV series)

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is a comic science fiction detective television series created and primarily written by Max Landis. The two seasons are inspired by the novel series of the same name by Douglas Adams. The series is co-produced and distributed by BBC America and Netflix, along with AMC Studios, Ideate Media and IDW Entertainment. Filming primarily took place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The series features an ensemble cast, including Samuel Barnett as the "holistic detective" Dirk Gently, and Elijah Wood as his reluctant sidekick Todd. Other main cast members include Hannah Marks as Todd's sister Amanda, Jade Eshete as security officer Farah Black, Fiona Dourif as "holistic assassin" Bart, and Mpho Koaho as electronics technician Ken. The first season is set in Seattle, Washington and the second season is set in the fictional town of Bergsberg, Montana.

The eight-episode first season premiered on BBC America on October 22, 2016, to positive reviews, before concluding on December 10, 2016. All episodes were made available on Netflix (outside of the United States) on December 11, 2016. On November 21, 2016, BBC America renewed the series for a 10-episode second season which premiered on October 14, 2017. Following the broadcast of the second-season finale, the show was cancelled.

Premise

The show is based around the eccentric Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) who claims to be a "holistic detective", investigating obscure cases based on the inter-connectivity of all things. During the first season he befriends Todd Brotzman (Elijah Wood) and Farah Black (Jade Eshete) who help him with his cases. Dirk's past is linked with "Project Blackwing", a secret CIA project to evaluate subjects with strange abilities. Dirk is not only followed by agents of Blackwing trying to recapture him but also by Bart Curlish (Fiona Dourif), another Blackwing subject who considers herself a "holistic assassin" and believes she is destined to kill Dirk.

Cast

• Samuel Barnett as Dirk Gently, an eccentric "holistic" detective, who understands everything in the universe to be interconnected. He does not solve cases by conventional means, but rather by following fate. It is revealed that he was part of a government organization studying people with 'special' abilities, as he is mildly psychic. He carries himself as excitable and optimistic, as a mask over his own loneliness and insecurity.
• Elijah Wood as Todd Brotzman, Dirk's reluctant sidekick/assistant. A bellhop who spends all of his money to help his sister Amanda afford her treatment for pararibulitis, a fictional disease he claims to have been cured of. It is later revealed he lied about ever having it; moreover he has lied to and stolen from everyone he has ever cared about. He now attempts to atone for his many crimes by taking care of his sister. At the end of season 1, he becomes afflicted by pararibulitis.
• Hannah Marks as Amanda Brotzman, Todd's sister who suffers from pararibulitis, a hereditary disease invented for the show that causes vivid and painful hallucinations. Amanda later joins the Rowdy 3, who help her manage her hallucinations.
• Jade Eshete as Farah Black, an efficient and tough security officer with obsessive-compulsive disorder. After her millionaire boss is killed and his daughter kidnapped, Farah is determined to solve the case alongside Dirk and Todd. She makes every attempt to keep the group safe, even when unsure she is capable of doing so.
• Fiona Dourif as Bart Curlish, a "holistic" assassin who believes that the universe leads her to people she has to kill, and that it won't allow her to die. She feels that she must hunt "Dirk Gently", despite not knowing who or what he is. She and Dirk are mirrors of each other, often paralleling one another from scene to scene. Because of her tendency to directly or indirectly murder people around her, Bart is extremely unsocialized, and has a jaded view of death.
• Mpho Koaho as Ken Adams, an electronics expert whom Bart kidnaps and forces to travel with her. While most of his recent work has been criminal in nature, he admits it is just due to his desperation for a paycheck, and is afraid of any excitement. Over the course of season 1, he befriends Bart, eventually coming to believe in the supernatural. In season 2, he is kidnapped by Blackwing, only to later become its supervisor.

Rowdy 3

The Rowdy 3 is a hedonist group first introduced as a group of four. (In season 2, it is revealed that they were initially three.) At the end of season 1, Amanda joins their ranks, making them five. The Rowdy 3 are among the people studied by the government organization tracking Dirk. They were originally classified as vampires because they survive by consuming people's emotional energy. At the end of season 2, the Rowdy 3 gain yet another member, The Beast.