SERIES PREMIERE: In a just and fair awards-show world, Walton Goggins would have won at least two or three Emmys by now, all for his superlative work on FX drama series: as a supporting actor for portraying Shane Vendrell on
The Shield and Boyd Crowder on
Justified, and as a guest actor for his recurring role as transgendered Venus Van Dam on
Sons of Anarchy. He’s also co-starred in HBO comedies,
The Righteous Gemstones and
Vice Principals, but I didn’t like those sitcoms nearly as much.
The Unicorn, though, has promise, and more than a little heart. Goggins plays a single parent, a widower, whose friends are urging him to get back into the dating scene – because, after a lengthy marriage with a tragic ending, he’s perceived as a highly coveted single-man rarity. A “unicorn.” Goggins underplays his role, going for a meek and sweet approach – and it works, at least enough to have you watching, and rooting for him.
For a full review, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.