Kyra Sedgwick’s Ten Days in the Valley

Jane Sadler (Kyra Sedgwick) is writing and producing a police drama that is based on real life events involving a group of dirty cops. Although Jane, a single mom, is devoted to her daughter, Lake (Abigail Pniowsky), she’s also consumed with her job. One evening, she leaves Lake asleep in her bed to retreat to her office, a stand alone shed located adjacent to her home. When she returns to her bedroom, she finds Lake gone. What follows is a ten-day search for the missing child that will have Jane struggling to hold both her work and personal lives together.

Abigail Pniowsky (Photo Credit: ABC/Mitch Haaseth)

It’s been a while since Sedgwick has had such a juicy role to sink her teeth into. Jane is similar to the deputy police chief, Brenda Johnson, that Sedgwick played in The Closer which ran on TNT for seven seasons. Jane, like Brenda, is smart, intense, self-absorbed, and not afraid to ruffle feathers to get things done.

Emily Kinney (Photo Credit: ABC/Mitch Haaseth)

When Lake disappears, there’s no shortage of suspects. Her ex-husband, Pete (Kirk Gurry), is an out-of-work music producer who is fighting to stay sober. He’s also dating Jane’s assistant, Casey (Emily Kinney), who resents her boss. Jane’s sister, Ali (Erika Christensen) discovers a secret from Jane’s past that threatens to destroy their relationship.

Adele Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Photo Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless)

And then there’s Jane’s show. Coming off an award- winning documentary, she’s eager to produce a police drama. She promises her source, Gus (Francois Battiste) that she will protect his identity by fictionalizing the information, but was that enough? Detective John Bird (Adele Akinnuoye-Agbaje) heads up the investigation, but Jane refuses to sit on the sidelines. And her reluctance to tell Bird everything that led up to Lake being taken, makes his job that much harder. In the six episodes made available for press screenings, there were plenty of twists and turns, leaving the final outcome a guessing game.

The supporting actors are all terrific, but this is Sedgwick’s show and she reminds us how much we’ve missed her presence on screen. Ten Days in the Valley is the kind of well-written thriller that has become standard fare on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Bravo to ABC for producing this terrific series. Two episodes have already aired on Sunday at 10 p.m., so before you begin watching, use on demand to catch up. Can we hope for another ten days in the valley after this series wraps up?

Top photo: Kyra Sedgwick
Photo Credit: ABC/Mitch Haaseth