Is Anna Paquin’s TV mystery Bellevue for the LGBT?

Bellevue is a Canadian TV crime drama series that first premiered on CBC Television in 2017 and starred Anna Paquin as a police officer investigating the disappearance of a transgender teen.

It was later picked up by WGN America and will show in the US this January 2018. Which makes us wonder: will we like it, or does it feature LGBT characters as the usual stereotypes?

Here’s a teaser of the show:

A look around Bellevue

Paquin– as Detective Annie Ryder– plays as a troubled cop following in her dead father’s footsteps in the small blue-collar town of Bellevue.

Annie has to raise a daughter while hashing out issues with her ex-husband, even as she looks for the missing transgender teen, Jesse Sweetland (played by Sadie O’Neil).

As the questions pile up over Jesse’s disappearance, Annie finds an old case that bedeviled her father resurfacing: the unsolved murder of Sandy Driver, a teenaged girl.

What’s more, a mysterious figure from Annie’s past returns by leaving a trail of riddles that are replete with a whole lot of religious iconography.

On a side note, there are other LGBT characters that show up though most notable is Virginia Panamick (played by Sharon Tayler), who is a detective of First Nations heritage as well as a lesbian.

Bellevue & the disappearing LGBT

While other TV series would introduce LGBT characters in their shows and then kill them off later, Bellevue— created by Jane Maggs and Adrienne Mitchell–centers the story on the disappearance of one.

Despite this initial setup, Bellevue fortunately doesn’t seem to rely too much on stereotypes– whether with Jesse’s transgender character or the “blue-collar town with nice folks” setting. (Maybe it’s because it’s set in Canada?)

Admittedly, the eight-hour drama show is about Paquin’s character, Annie, who’s straight as they come with her young daughter and her befuddled-looking, sometimes-estranged husband, Eddie Rowe (played by Allen Leech).

But at least there’s Jesse, the heartbreakingly-confused transgender teen who’s also the top hockey varsity athlete of their school. Because of Jesse’s dual status, the townsfolk are of two minds about the kid.

Likewise, there’s Virginia, the female “chip-on-the-shoulder” police detective, whose lesbian revelation turns her from a cardboard cut-out into something more interesting.

The mystery of Bellevue

In any case, we’re holding our judgement for a while as we check out more episodes. You can check it out with us when the show premieres on WGN America on Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 10:00PM ET/ 9:00PM CT.

Here’s the summary of the series:

Welcome to “Bellevue” – a small town with big secrets. Twenty years ago the murder of a young woman traumatized the community. Now the killer is back. Or is he? When a high school hockey star wrestling with his gender identity goes missing and all signs point to foul play, Detective Annie Ryder (Anna Paquin) must unravel all the pieces to this gripping mystery before her own life falls apart. As the case pulls her further away from her family, she is also confronted by a mysterious person from her past with disturbing answers and a terrifying need to get inside her head. Along the way, Annie must navigate a complicated relationship with her on again, off again ex, Eddie (Allen Leech) and her boss on the force, Police Chief Peter Welland (Shawn Doyle).

You can also check out the full trailer below: