I don't recall how I first heard about Rectify, but it was probably via Entertainment Weekly or one of the many of pop culture/entertainment websites and/or Facebook/Twitter feeds that I read on a regular basis. Rectify season 1 aired on the Sundance channel (Sundance's first original series) in 2013. It was created by Ray McKinnon and its main characters are played by Aden Young & Abigail Spencer. Season 2 just started on 6/19, so now would be a good time to binge watch season 1.
Daniel Holden (played by Young) has just been released from prison after being on death row for murdering & raping his girlfriend Hanna when he was just a teenager. Now he is in his 30's and new DNA evidence leads to his sentence being vacated. He now has to live a "normal" life, which he finds a bit challenging since there are now things like the Internet, cell phones, etc. that didn't really exist before he went to prison. Daniel has a hard time trying to determine where he fits into this new world and this world has a hard time dealing with Daniel. The (very Southern) community he lives in still believes he committed this heinous crime and his family doesn't know exactly how to deal with him, but they do ultimately begin to pull together. Daniel's emotions run the gamut from loneliness to joy to bewilderment to anger & rage, sometimes within a single episode.
Rectify is not a fast-paced show, it's a bit of a slow burn. The cinematography is top notch, it has very deliberate dialogue along with deliberate silent moments which are just as strong, and some wonderful performances. Young's portrayal of Daniel is one of the best performances I've seen in awhile, it's just too bad this show was widely ignored when it first aired as he did truly deserve award nominations. This show does a nice job of portraying the challenges a former prisoner must go through in order to adjust to the real world, especially in such a small, tight-knit community.
I did really like Rectify and look forward to watching season 2...7.5/10 stars
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