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Similar to the uptick in interest for mature fantasy series following the runaway success of Game of Thrones, a demand for dark crime thrillers centered on an average family descending into crime increased thanks to Ozark. Although Ozark initially drew frequent comparisons to Breaking Bad, the Jason Bateman-led crime thriller quickly cultivated an addicted fan base of its own and became one of Netflix’s most-streamed original series ever. So, now that Ozark has concluded, what can fans watch that’s a similar, dark drama about a family pushed to its limits?
One show poised to fill that craving is Apple TV+’s The Mosquito Coast, which ran for two seasons. Inspired by the 1981 novel by Paul Theroux and the 1986 film starring Harrison Ford, the series follows off-the-grid inventor Allie Fox (Justin Theroux) as his secret involvement in an enigmatic cartel scheme forces his family to go on the run. Fox and his wife Margot (Melissa George) command their whip-smart teenage daughter Dina (Logan Polish) and younger son Charlie (Gabriel Bateman) to pack up quickly and abandon their home as they evade authorities on a journey to an unknown location.
What Is ‘The Mosquito Coast’ About?
The first season of The Mosquito Coast is very much the first chapter of a larger saga. In the first seven episodes, the series introduced a compelling mystery that sets the stage for its second season. It also deals out shocking violence at unexpected moments, including a particularly intense and brutal standoff in the second episode. Regardless of the faded popularity of the original source material, The Mosquito Coast is exactly what fans of Ozark should select as their next binge.
Right from the get-go, the Fox family’s dilemma is similar to that of the Byrdes in Ozark: a seemingly normal life has to be quickly abandoned thanks to the family’s involvement in criminal activities. The difference is, the Fox clan seemed to be a lot happier than the miserable Byrdes, who all seem to actively hate each other before they go on the run. Seeing the Foxes’ trust in one another deteriorate after the major revelations start hitting is much different than watching the same thing happen to a family where those bonds were never there in the first place. The first twenty minutes of The Mosquito Coast’s pilot feature playful family in-jokes about college and homeschooling, but these quickly become grim reminders of a reality that no longer exists.
Both shows also cut to the chase pretty quickly. Walter White didn’t reveal the details of his Heisenberg persona to his family until several seasons into Breaking Bad, but Marty lets both his wife Wendy (Laura Linney) and their children know that his business partner was murdered and their lives are in danger by the time Ozark reaches the halfway point of its first season. Marty must introduce Wendy to his crime-ridden double life before she quickly surpasses him and starts making deals of her own.
How Is ‘The Mosquito Coast’ Family Different from ‘Ozark’s?
In contrast, the Fox couple are united in their schemes from the very beginning. Allie and Margot are on equal footing, even if Margot is slightly more of a “people person” (which isn’t saying much considering Allie’s extreme eccentricities). Having two active participants makes the show more compelling, as there’s unsaid tension brewing between Allie and Margot regarding their shady past. The initial shock of the criminal conspiracy is a nice hook, but watching a marriage slowly splinter lays the groundwork for a longer story.
The Mosquito Coast has another interesting wrinkle that distinguishes it as more than an Ozark wannabe, and that’s the central character. Ozark’s Marty Byrde is framed as a mild-mannered accountant whose villainous presence only shows its face when he needs to sell an idea quickly. Most importantly, he’s not an idealist, and he has no illusions that money-laundering enterprise is about anything but the immediate survival of his family. Bateman plays morally flexible adeptly, without any hint that it’s for a cause.
Allie Fox may be just as ruthless of a salesman as Marty, but he’s also fiercely anti-consumerist and holds his ideals so strongly that he rapidly descends into madness. Even when he and Dina attempt to evade the police by blending into a shelter community, Allie isn’t going to miss the chance to rant to his daughter about why the federal government’s incompetence led to the financial crisis. Allie insists that every misstep (from a last-minute crash into a police escort to the murder of their tour guide) is all part of the scheme he’s concocted. Marty is someone who can read the room and blend in, but Allie keeps trying to maintain the illusion that he’s in control. It only takes a brief conversation to reveal he’s a radical extremist with a shaky grasp on reality.
It’s this key difference that distinguishes the way the two stories unravel, as The Mosquito Coast proceeds as a mystery. We learn all the details about Marty’s laundering scheme halfway through Ozark’s pilot when he confesses after being threatened at gunpoint, but The Mosquito Coast spends an entire early episode (“Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”) trapped in the desert with an unclear destination. The audience shares the perspective of Dina, who is terrified of the dangers ahead because her father refuses to give her any answers. The tone is just as relentless, but if Ozark mined much of its drama from solving an immediate crisis, The Mosquito Coast explores the slow-burn tension of being dragged along by a madman with a plan he refuses to explain.
The Similarities Between ‘Ozark’ and ‘The Mosquito Coast’
However, the shows both find the awkward and frequently twisted humor of seeing a family of non-hardened criminals attempt to function normally. Awkward dinner conversations where household chores and deceiving the FBI are discussed with equal import were the norm on Ozark, and The Mosquito Coast follows a similar path with its standout fourth episode “Bus Stop.” When Dina and their ally Chuy attempt to kidnap the son of a crime family while they stay at a wealthy estate, Allie and Margot are forced to engage in small talk with the boy’s parents. The resulting exchange finds the comic absurdity in this perilous situation.
Ozark concluded its third (and best) season with a haunting closing shot signifying the story was reaching its climax, and anything tackling similar subject material will automatically face comparisons to that prestige drama. Thankfully, The Mosquito Coast hits many of the same notes without being identical, and appropriately retrofits the radical commentary on American ignorance from the original novel and film into a gripping adventure for 2021. Between the various betrayals, interrogations, and chases packed within the first seven episodes, Ozark fans have a new obsession in front of them.
The Mosquito Coast Season 1 and 2 are now streaming on AppleTV+.
