"Grimm" is a ... let's say "urban fantasy / lightweight horror / police" TV series that started in 2011, that runs on the idea that there are humans who can transform into animal-like creatures, and there are humans who hunt them called "Grimms." The idea borrows heavily from The Brothers Grimm folk tales. This series suggests that the Brother's tales were all based on real experiences, and that they passed their lore and training in hunting magical creatures down through generations to the present day. Our main character in the series is detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) of the Portland Police, who discovers in the first episode that he's a "Grimm." But he goes in a new direction for the Grimms: previously, they killed all the creatures that they encountered, but he rarely kills any and actively helps the law-abiding ones.

The series' worst problem is poor writing - of the "there was a crime" - "we should investigate the crime" - "let us drive to the crime" school of dialogue. The first 15 episodes are verging on stand-alone - a new creature type is introduced, the creature commits a crime, Nick learns about the creature (often with help from his creature buddy Monroe, played by Silas Weir Mitchell), the crime is solved. In the 15th episode, Rosalee (Bree Turner) turns up - another "Wesen," she takes over the local "Tea and Spices" shop that caters to Wesen - and becomes friends with Nick and particularly Monroe. This was a turning point for the series, with them getting into extended story arcs and the writing improving slightly. Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, this doesn't improve the weak acting.

I call the series "lightweight horror" because they usually open with some violent and bloody (or disgustingly gooey) crime - and that's pretty much the end of the gore. There are occasionally hand-to-hand fights or shootings, but mostly we have Nick trying to figure out what's going on and explaining away the supernatural elements that none of the other police know about (except his police captain / boss, who is some kind of secret super-Wesen and Nick doesn't even know it - and no, that's not a spoiler as we find out in episode 1). There's also his trying to have a normal life with his human girlfriend, and keep his human partner Hank (Russell Hornsby) in the dark about Wesen.

The end of the first season endangers the life of a major character and gives us a huge reveal (long-dead person is actually alive) and goes to black. Not a fan of cliff-hangers, but won't go on that rant here.