The Bridge

A murder that leaves a bisected corpse sitting neatly on the border between El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, kicks off an inspired drama. The storylines here range from the struggles of law enforcement in a Mexico controlled by ruthless drug cartels to the grief of an American homicide detective with Asperger’s syndrome who lost her sister. Mexican actor Demiar Bechir shines as Marco Ruiz, a weary detective whose philandering ways eventually cost him his marriage and much more. German actress Diane Kruger is Sonya Cross, an El Paso detective with Asperger’s who struggles to understand emotions even while working with Ruiz to solve the murder. Based on a Danish/Swedish series with the same name, The Bridge includes extensive scenes in Spanish with subtitles, along with a storyline that references The Lost Girls of Juarez – a tragedy in which nearly 400 women have been murdered in that Mexican city since the mid-1990s. This series is a powerful translation for American audiences, spotlighting issues along the border that are rarely seen on mainstream U.S. television. For raising awareness of border issues while creating a compelling murder mystery, a Peabody award goes to The Bridge.