Grimm (TV series)

Grimm is an American fantasy police procedural drama television series created by Stephen Carpenter and Jim Kouf & David Greenwalt and produced by Universal Television for NBC. The series aired from October 28, 2011 to March 31, 2017, for 123 episodes, over six seasons. The series' narrative follows Portland homicide detective Nicholas Burkhardt (played by David Giuntoli), who discovers he is a Grimm, the latest in a line of guardians who is sworn to keep the balance between humanity and mythological creatures, known as Wesen. The series features a supporting cast consisting of Russell Hornsby, Bitsie Tulloch, Silas Weir Mitchell, Sasha Roiz, Reggie Lee, Bree Turner, and Claire Coffee.
"Grimm" was originally developed for CBS, but plans were canceled due to the writers' strike. In January 2011, NBC opted for the series. It has been described as "a cop drama—with a twist ... a dark and fantastical project about a world in which characters inspired by Grimms' Fairy Tales exist", although the stories and characters inspiring the show are also drawn from other sources. The series initially garnered mixed reviews from critics, though reception grew more favorable throughout the series' run. The sixth and final season of "Grimm" premiered on January 6, 2017 and concluded on March 31, 2017.
Synopsis.
Homicide investigator Nick Burkhardt of the Portland Police Department learns he is descended from a line of guardians known as "Grimms", charged with keeping balance between humanity and the ', or mythological creatures of the world (' is the German word for "being" or "creature"). Throughout the series, he must battle against an assortment of dangerous creatures, with help from his friend, Monroe, and his partner, Detective Hank Griffin.
Black Claw and Hadrian's Wall (HW) are two opposing groups repeatedly mentioned in the series; many characters belong to these creature (wesen) groups.
Opening: "There once was a man who lived a life so strange, it had to be true. Only he could see what no one else can—the darkness inside, the real monster within, and he's the one who must stop them. This is his calling. This is his duty. This is the life of a Grimm."
Episodes.
Many of the episodes are loosely based on stories published by the Brothers Grimm, albeit with considerable artistic license taken. For example, the pilot centered around a wolf-man who preyed on women who wore red. Other episodes are based on different sources, including fables and legends, not published by the Brothers Grimm.
Production.
Development and filming.
In 2008, CBS canceled development on a drama called "Brother Grimm", from Stephen Carpenter and production companies CBS Paramount Television and Hazy Mills Productions, because of the writers' strike.
In January 2011, NBC announced that it had ordered a series titled "Grimm". David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf cowrote the pilot, which was directed by Marc Buckland. Filming for the pilot began in March in Portland, Oregon. In May 2011, NBC announced that it had picked up the series.
Greenwalt and Kouf served as executive producers for the series, along with Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner. The series was produced by Universal Media Studios and Hazy Mills Productions. It was filmed on location in and around Portland. Greenwalt and Kouf told Portland's NBC affiliate KGW they chose Portland because of its plentiful forests in the city's two largest parks, Washington Park and Forest Park.
On September 30, 2011, NBC delayed the debut of "Grimm" by one month, moving the premiere to October 28, 2011, so it could premiere closer to Halloween. On November 21, 2011, NBC picked up the series for a full 22-episode season. NBC showed a special Thursday showing on December 8 at 10 pm to see if the network's overall ratings could improve.
On March 16, 2012, NBC announced that the series had been renewed for a second season; according to writers/producers David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf, they would continue to film the show in Portland, saying, "Rain or shine, Portland has been the ideal setting for fairy tales with its enchanting layout. It is its own character in our show with the perfect mix of urban and rural settings." "Grimm" ran on Fridays for the entirety of its first season. The second season premiered on Monday, August 13, 2012, and continued on Mondays for four episodes, before returning to its original Friday timeslot on September 10.
On April 19, 2013, NBC announced they would move "Grimm" to Tuesdays beginning on April 30, 2013 for the remainder of Season 2 until May 21. "Grimm" was renewed for a third season on April 26, 2013. The third-season premiere on October 25, 2013 returned the show to its original Friday timeslot. On March 19, 2014, NBC announced that "Grimm" had been renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on Friday, October 24, 2014.
On February 5, 2015, NBC confirmed a fifth season for "Grimm", which premiered on Friday, October 30, 2015.
On April 23, 2016, NBC confirmed at least 13 episodes for a sixth season.
Casting.
David Giuntoli, who plays Nick, was the first to be cast. Silas Weir Mitchell was then cast as Monroe, the now-reformed "big bad wolf". Following this, Russell Hornsby and Bitsie Tulloch were cast as Nick's partner Hank and his girlfriend, Juliette, respectively. Sasha Roiz was cast in the final regular role as Captain Renard.
Bree Turner, who guest starred in four episodes in Season 1, became a series regular for Season 2, continuing her role as Rosalee Calvert. Claire Coffee, who has been recurring as Adalind Schade since the pilot, was also upgraded to series regular during Season 2.
Reception.
Critical reception.
The series' premiere received mixed reviews from critics. On Metacritic the series has a score of 55 out of 100, based on reviews from 23 critics.
Tim Goodman of "The Hollywood Reporter" felt "[i]t has chills and humor and the ability to take a procedural story and twist it." Mike Hale of "The New York Times" said, "Some of the jokes work, and some of the frights are actually scary, and on a repeat viewing the craftsmanship and attention to detail made more of an impression."
Mary McNamara of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote in a mixed review that she preferred other fairy-tale themed dramas, such as ABC's "Once Upon a Time", stating that despite a good cast and setting, "Grimm" puts an "entertaining crime spin on fairy-tale monsters that's a little too pat ... [And] adds up to a nice, moody, entertaining-enough hour and the troublesome question of how interesting this will be by the third episode."
Daynah Burnett, who reviewed the program for PopMatters, felt "[a]s Grimm grasps for compelling analogues between fairy tales' villains and ours, its stories turn exceedingly literal: wolves urinate in the corners of their lawns to mark their territory, rather than lurk (and mark) in ways less obvious and more culturally meaningful. There's certainly room here for these archetypes to be explored as the series develops, but when Nick's prime suspect for the red-hoodie crimes turns out to live in an actual cottage in the woods, it doesn't bode well for how these stories might reflect the lives of viewers", before giving it a score of 4 out of 10.
The second season received a more favorable response, with a score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on four reviews. "The Los Angeles Times" said of the second-season premiere, "it's hard not to love a show with a comely apothecary, and it's impossible not to love the new season of "Grimm"."
Mike Hale of "The New York Times" said of season three, "Grimm is not a profound show (what is?), but few are more purely entertaining – engaging, clever, tense, funny, well paced and featuring a remarkably appealing cast as the friends and colleagues who help Nick."
Ratings.
A press release put out by NBC on November 11, 2011, states, ""Grimm" and "Up All Night" Are the #1 New Drama and #1 New Comedy Among Top % Gainers Going from Live+Same Day to Live+7. "Grimm" is the #1 new drama on ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox in terms of percentage increase from L+SD to L+7 so far this season and also the #1 new series and the #2 show overall behind only Fox's "Fringe" (+57%), growing by +49% in adults 18–49 (to a 2.98 rating from a 2.00)" The series, which has been averaging about 6.4 million U.S. viewers during its first season, has been renewed for a second season.
Friday, September 28, 2012, "Grimm" had increased its adult 18-49 rating by 1.14 points going from "live plus same day" ratings to "live plus three day" results from Nielsen Media Research (from a 1.58 to a 2.72). The 1.14 increase was "Grimm"s biggest gain ever, going from L+SD to L+3. The 2.72 was "Grimm"'s highest L+3 rating since the show's second-season premiere on Monday, August 13.
Tie-in work.
Comics.
In May 2013, Dynamite Entertainment started releasing a monthly Grimm Comic Book series. The series ended with issue #12, which was released April 30, 2014.
Books.
Novelist John Shirley was hired to write the first novel based on the Grimm television show. "Grimm: The Icy Touch" was published by Titan Books on November 5, 2013, and book 2, "Grimm: The Chopping Block", written by John Passarella, was published February 18, 2014. The third novel, "Grimm: The Killing Time", was written by Tim Waggoner and was published on September 30, 2014.
Spin-off.
On October 16, 2018, NBC announced that a spin-off of the series was in development. The potential new series will focus on a female Grimm and continuing to build off the mythology of the original series, the new show will feature returning fan favourites while also introducing new characters, new dangers and epic new mysteries.
Broadcast.
The series premiered in Australia on January 4, 2012 on FOX8, with season two returning on September 30, 2012, season three on October 30, 2013, and season four on January 7, 2015. The series was replayed on free-to-air network Seven (as opposed to FOX8, which is a subscription television network), with season one premiering November 30, 2012, with season two returning on August 1, 2013, and season three on October 15, 2014.
In New Zealand the series premiered on June 18, 2012 on FOUR.
The series premiered in Canada on October 28, 2011 on CTV, with season two returning on August 13, 2012, season three on October 25, 2013, and season four on October 24, 2014.
The series premiered in the UK on February 13, 2012 on W (known then as Watch), with season two returning on October 22, 2012, and season 3 on February 5, 2014. The fourth season premiered on January 28, 2015. The fifth season premiered on November 3, 2015. The sixth season premiered on February 14, 2017. The series was also able to be watched on Netflix until January 5, 2020.
The series premiered in India on June 30, 2016 on Colors Infinity, with the first five seasons being broadcast on weekdays (Monday-Friday). The final season was aired as a part of the network's Instant Premieres programming block, with each episode of season six airing within 12 hours of its US broadcast.