The Following

Kevin Bacon plays a former FBI agent pulled back into the pursuit of a killer he already knows too well. James Purefoy's Joe Carroll gives The Following an antagonist whose influence reaches beyond what he can do in person.

Their opposition is the reason to consider the series. Bacon supplies fatigue and determination, while Purefoy makes charm part of the threat. The expanding danger keeps the plot moving, although it can also strain belief when another complication arrives just as the previous one seems contained.

This is a dark network thriller that favours momentum and shocks over the restraint of a careful procedural. It suits viewers prepared to follow an escalating chase, less so those who want every investigative decision to withstand close examination. Dexter is a different approach to crime drama built around a dangerous central personality.