Ten Days in the Valley Primed to become season's best new drama

ABC’s Ten Days in the Valley is primed to become the season’s best new drama. The series begins on day one of the investigation into the disappearance of Jane Sadler’s young daughter Lake. Jane, played by Kyra Sedgwick, is an overworked television showrunner with a tumultuous past, who while going through a difficult divorce, struggles to keep her head above water amidst all of life’s demands.

Inspired by Canadian creator Tassie Cameron’s recurring dream of her own daughter’s kidnapping induced by working-mom guilt, the show delivers the heart-pounding suspense waking nightmares are made of.

The deeper we delve into the tangled web of mystery the story weaves, the less predictable the outcome becomes. With every secret a character reveals, another is unearthed, giving the audience a deep pool of suspects. There’s the recovering drug-addict ex-husband who resents Jane’s “mother of the year” façade and has been known to keep their daughter longer than the custody terms dictate; Jane’s bright-eyed ambitious, eager to please assistant who has deemed Jane a mother-figure, yet carries on an affair with Jane’s ex, who she is also fabricating an alibi for; the professional nanny, the character arguably the closest to the kidnap victim, overheard having a questionable phone conversation with her husband; and the fellow writer on Jane’s show who pitches a storyline eerily similar to the circumstances of her daughter’s disappearance.

On paper each character may draw to mind overused stereotypes, but rest assured the entire ensemble, masterfully led by Sedgwick, offer realistic portrayals of flawed characters and complex relationships.

Ten Days in the Valley is a thrilling glimpse inside an investigation that blurs the lines between reality and fiction, turning everyone’s lives upside down, and keeping viewers on the edge of their seats.

Catch day two of the nail-biting investigation Sunday night at 10pm on ABC.