ABC’s New TV Show “American Crime,” Race and Immigration

ABC has a new TV show, “American Crime,” that will begin airing tonight. The show revolves around the murder of a war veteran and attempted murder of his wife, the victims’ families and the suspects and their families.  Created by Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley (of 12 Years a Slave), “American Crime” is, as today’s NYT review said, “doesn’t seem to be about race” but everything about it is “tinged with prejudice” in one form or another. 

Both racism and anti-immigrant sentiment are explored in the story about one of the suspects, Tony Gutierrez. As the NYT review noted: “When [the victim’s mother] is told that one suspect is Hispanic, she assumes he’s an undocumented immigrant, or as she puts it, “some illegal.” 

More broadly, views about immigration law plays a role in Tony’s father, Alonzo Gutierrez.  In a TV Guide interview of Michael McDonald, Executive Producer of the show, McDonald described Alonzo as “A widower and a devout Roman Catholic, Alonzo and his wife came to America legally in their teens. “They came here through the system and have always stayed within the system,” McDonald says. A business owner and a homeowner, Alonzo is “a believer in the system and that if you work hard and you don’t break the rules, then you’ll succeed,” McDonald says. “He feels like he is living the American dream and he just wants to keep his children on the straight and narrow and wants to instill in them that same work ethic.”

It would be interesting to see how these themes of race, immigration and crime unfold in what promises to be a gripping drama series.

RCV