With a body count that easily reaches double digits, it might sound strange to describe BBC America’s new crime drama Killing Eve as “fun.” But dammit, it is fun — an addictive and surprisingly witty thriller powered by two remarkable female performances, and a welcome counterbalance to dour, moody British crime dramas like Luther and The Fall. (Who says you can’t solve murders and have a laugh, huh?)
The killer at the center of Killing Eve — premiering Sunday, April 8 at 8/7c; I’ve seen five of the eight episodes — is Villanelle (The White Princess‘ Jodie Comer), a highly skilled contract killer whose stunning good looks allow her to slip in and out of crime scenes undetected. (She blends in seamlessly at an Italian wedding before stabbing a guy with a poison hairpin.) She’s a coldblooded psychopath — when shown a photo of a dead man hanging from a noose, she flatly comments, “Nice legs” — and armed with a brazen self-confidence, convinced she can’t be caught. As an investigator notes after her latest flamboyant kill: “Frankly, she’s starting to show off.”