“Great Kills” is the TV show you probably haven’t heard about, but should absolutely be watching.
Shot entirely on Staten Island, the eight-episode first season — available now on streaming platform Tubi — marries humor and humility with violence and out-of-the-box conflict to create an original series that stands out in a sea of television reboots, spinoffs and revivals (no offense, “Will & Grace,” “Frasier” and any of the “Law & Order” series).
Check out the NSFW trailer below.
A fresh take on work-place mockumentaries, the dark comedy from creators James Merendino and Lisa Hammer follows the life and forays of Thomas Lynch (Steve Stanulis), a small-time hit man living on Staten Island. While carrying out his murderous duties, Lynch is tailed by three clout-chasing documentarians (Merendino, Hammer and Levi Wilson) who are in pursuit of their next award-winning project. The trio view the ironically empathetic Lynch as their golden ticket to film festival glory, and are willing to throw (most) ethics to the wind to get great footage.
Steve Stanulis as Thomas Lynch and Jerry Todisco as Walker in “Great Kills.” (Courtesy of Great Kills/Tubi)
FROM BIG SCREEN TO SMALL SCREEN
The funny, endearing and, at times, emotionally and physically brutal ”Great Kills” draws its inspiration from Merendino, Hammer and Stanulis’ thriller flick “The Invisible Life of Thomas Lynch” (2009), which follows roughly the same hit-man premise. The film had some success, but its wider release didn’t quite pan out as intended.
“It kind of got screwed up in the release. It was a weird time, streaming wasn’t quite happening yet,” Merendino recounted to the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com during a recent interview. “We didn’t really find a good home for it back then.”
Steve Stanulis as Thomas Lynch strangles Eleah Burman’s Nat Ricci during a scene of “Great Kills.” (Courtesy of Great Kills/Tubi)
Fast forward about 13 years, and Stanulis was eager to…
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