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https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/apr/23/return-of-noir-tv-detectives-spider-noir>
"Lace up your gumshoes! Hard-boiled detectives are back on the scene, fedoras
pulled low, cigarettes sparked up. Nicolas Cage is leading the charge in Prime
Video’s
Spider-Noir, a shadowy spin on Spider-Man that drops in May –
available to stream in black-and-white for the diehards. It promises all the
hard-edged hallmarks of a good film noir: fast-paced, slangy dialogue, femme
fatales, and a heavy-drinking detective at its centre – albeit one with web
shooters rather than a snub-nose revolver.
He’s not the only PI in the frame this year. Apple TV is adapting Philip Kerr’s
Berlin Noir series into a series starring Colin Firth, while a new NBC pilot
promises Jake Johnson as a “cynical and heartbroken” sleuth. And Brad Bird’s
animated noir,
Ray Gunn, is finally hitting Netflix after almost 30 years in
development.
So what’s prompted this return to darkness? Perhaps it’s a sign of the times.
When Marvel first published the original
Spider-Noir comic in 2009 – itself
set during the Great Depression – the world was in the throes of a recession.
That, it seems, is the noir rhythm: hard-boiled fiction swells in popularity at
times of social strain, growing cynicism and shaken trust. When the going gets
tough, the saxes start playing."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
