USA‘s Anna Pigeon joins the ranks of mystery book-to-screen adaptations, and promptly pushes itself head and shoulders above the rest. The reason why is in the title: a brassy, hard-charging performance by Tracy Spiridakos as Anna Pigeon. Add in a reliable crime story and an equally sassy villain, and series creator Morwyn Brebner (Rookie Blue) has the makings of a crime show with delightful attitude.

The series is based on the novels by Nevada Barr, and its bones will be familiar to anyone who knows the crime genre. The main character is a tough, antisocial type who has a tragic backstory; Anna’s husband Zach was killed under questionable circumstances. This naturally has prompted her to drink a lot and have flings with the local bartender whose name she doesn’t even know. But underneath these familiar ideas is Spiridakos’ sparkling personality. Anyone who watched her performances in Chicago PD and Revolution knows how tough she is, but also how much charm and energy she brings. She’s able to deliver Anna’s one-liners without them feeling like jokes, and when Anna gives a speech to a bad guy, it carries weight because the audience knows Spiridakos can back that up. This is an absolutely perfect piece of casting.

But Brebner wisely puts extra effort into developing the world around Anna, ensuring that Anna Pigeon isn’t a one-woman show. When a TV series is titled after a character, there’s a tendency for everyone around the hero to fade into the background. And in the crime genre, there’s also a habit for the supporting cast to tick certain boxes: there’s the funny one, the geeky one, et cetera. Anna Pigeon sidesteps both those problems. There’s enough given about the characters around Anna that the audience wants to know more. The one player who might be called underdeveloped is Anna’s new nemesis Jeremiah, who comes out of the gate as “evil rich guy,” but another fun casting choice smooths that over. Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy) knows how to play the smarmy part perfectly, and his arrogance is a perfect foil for Spiridakos’ confidence. The audience can already imagine the banter between the two—an early sign of an entertaining TV rivalry.

But beyond that, there are little moments that make the show feel more real. The extra few beats taken as Anna and her fellow park rangers move the body of their deceased colleague Sheila allow the audience to live in that moment, and give Sheila’s death the weight it’s supposed to have. It shows the loss, instead of fans just being told how much it hurts. Elsewhere, Ronnie Rowe gets an all-time great introduction as FBI agent Frederick Stanton and like Spiridakos, makes what could’ve been an “only on TV” moment seem so natural. And nature isn’t just a pretty backdrop here; the scenes between Anna and a mountain lion actually have an emotional effect. Director Lea Thompson deserves an enormous amount of credit for not only capturing the grandeur that’s expected for a show set in a national park, but also making sure the scenes that happen at night are actually watchable for viewers. It’s a relief after so many TV scenes that are too dark to capture the details. Anna Pigeon is visually arresting—no pun intended.

There will be a temptation to compare Anna Pigeon to the Netflix drama Untamed, as both shows are about park rangers with tragic pasts who investigate murder and conspiracy, and both have great leads. But where Untamed is dark and brooding, Anna Pigeon has a healthy amount of sass, and doesn’t hit the audience over the head with it. It’s an entertaining escape, making it wonderful for its Friday night timeslot (previously occupied by another book adaptation, The Rainmaker). The show may be comfortable in the crime genre sandbox, but it’s done very well. Between Spiridakos’ performance, the vibrancy of the world around Anna, and the reliable storytelling, Anna Pigeon doesn’t need a gimmick or a plot twist to be successful. Like its main character, it just shows up and gets the job done.

Anna Pigeon premieres Aug. 7, 2026 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on USA. Photo Credit: Michelle Faye/Courtesy of Versant Media.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.