Memory of a Killer Review: Patrick Dempsey Trades McDreamy for Mayhem in Fox’s Addictive New Thriller
- Je-Ree
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Fox’s Memory of a Killer arrives with a provocative premise and a familiar face doing something wildly unfamiliar. Patrick Dempsey, forever etched in pop culture as McDreamy, steps into much darker territory as Angelo, a contract killer with a conscience, a family man with secrets and a man slowly losing his grip on his own mind. After screening the first two episodes, one thing is clear: this series knows exactly how to hook you, mess with your morals and leave you wanting more.
Based on the novel The Alzheimer Case (also adapted into the acclaimed Belgian film), Memory of a Killer introduces Angelo as a man living two carefully separated lives. By day, he’s a low-key family guy trying to stay under the radar "selling copiers". By night, he’s a highly efficient hitman who targets people the show very intentionally frames as “bad.” And yes, that framing works because before you know it, the show has you doing the unthinkable: rooting for a killer.
That moral tension is one of the series’ strongest early wins. Angelo isn’t presented as a superhero assassin or an untouchable action figure. He takes hits, makes mistakes and bleeds. There’s something refreshing about a hitman who isn’t invincible and it grounds the show in a reality that makes the danger feel real rather than stylized. When things go wrong and they do, very quickly, the consequences ripple outward. The first episode does not waste time building up characters too much, you get to learn the players quick so pay attention.
The real twist, of course, is Angelo’s early-onset Alzheimer’s. As his memory begins to slip, the wall between his professional life and his family life starts to crumble. Missed details, misplaced trust and moments of confusion become liabilities and in Angelo’s line of work, liabilities get people killed. The tension doesn’t come solely from shootouts or threats but from watching a man realize he can no longer fully trust his own mind.
Enter Gina Torres as a sharp, suspicious FBI agent circling closer to the truth. Torres is always a welcome presence and here she brings a calm, dangerous intelligence that makes every scene crackle. You can practically feel the walls closing in on Angelo as she starts connecting dots.
And then there’s Patrick Dempsey. This role might be one of the most compelling turns of his career. He still has the charisma and yes, he still looks good throwing punches but this is not the Dempsey of Grey’s Anatomy. He’s not saving lives anymore; he’s ending them. There’s an added layer of irony that longtime TV fans will appreciate: on Grey’s, his wife is trying to cure Alzheimer’s. Here, he’s the one living with it. Come on, that connection is too good not to acknowledge.
Dempsey plays Angelo with restraint, letting fear, regret and confusion creep in slowly rather than leaning into melodrama. It’s a performance that asks for patience and rewards it, making Angelo feel human even when he’s doing monstrous things.
The supporting cast helps elevate the material even further. Michael Imperioli’s Dutch is quietly terrifying, the kind of guy who seems warm and family-oriented until you cross him and then you’re done. Imperioli knows exactly how to weaponize calm and it makes Dutch one of the most unsettling figures in the early episodes.
By the end of episode two, the stakes are clear. Angelo has taken out the wrong person and a mysterious figure known as “The Ferryman” is now targeting him and his family. Can Angelo protect them while keeping his secrets buried and his mind intact? That question drives the suspense forward and also raises a bigger one: how long can a story like this sustain itself? The concept is strong, but it’s fair to wonder how many seasons Fox can realistically mine from this premise without stretching credibility.
Still, based on the opening chapters, Memory of a Killer has all the right ingredients: strong performances, a morally messy lead, real consequences and a ticking clock inside its protagonist’s own brain.
The series kicks off with a special two-night premiere on Fox, starting Sunday, January 25 at 10 p.m., with the second episode airing Monday, January 26. If the first two episodes are any indication, this is one thriller worth remembering, even as its main character is struggling to forget.
Now excuse me while I wait impatiently to see where this story goes next.