A Long Island farmer bands together a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence.
Despite unflinching bursts of violence... the suspense is tempered by the setting and a realization how long the war will drag on, transforming some of the caper aspects into Mission: Impossible (the series, not the movies) in powered wigs and red coats.
The production design is even more handsome. The CGI-enhanced scenes of New York and its harbor are particularly striking... And most of the performances remain entertaining in their arch way.
Turn could become a far more fun show in its second season thanks to the appearance of Owain Yeoman as Benedict Arnold, a character that best represents Turn's opportunity to turn foregone conclusions into riveting television.
Even the accents... promote the sense that we are peeking behind the curtain of life as it really happened, not watching another gimcrack re-creation of the bandaged head, flute and limp sort.
