This third season of the Australian legal drama starring Marta Dusseldorp as Senior Crown Prosecutor Janet King focuses on a government investigation into illegal betting, match fixing, and organized crime connections to the world of professional cricket, a case that heats up with the suicide of one young player under suspicion and an arson attack on another. And that's only the beginning of this investigation that follows a trail of clues to experimental performance-enhancing drugs and the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl. Janet is less of a maverick here than in earlier series, when her ambition sometimes pushed her to cross lines, and it gets personal when she takes responsibility for the angry teenage girl who has been abused and abandoned, and reconnects with her estranged, emotionally distant father. The show also details the legal framework and procedures of building a case and working with the police, which is as interesting as the criminal conspiracy at the center of the investigation. The subculture of cricket may feel a bit obscure to American viewers, but the show helps out on that score—Janet knows nothing about the sport either—and the world of professional sports should look familiar to anyone with passing exposure to the culture of superstar athletes in baseball, football, or basketball. Compiling all eight episodes from 2017, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a photo gallery. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Janet King: Series 3—Playing Advantage
RLJ, 3 discs, 466 min., not rated, DVD: $49.99 Volume 33, Issue 1
Janet King: Series 3—Playing Advantage
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