# Harper's Island (2009)

> A destination wedding on a secluded island becomes a deadly hunt as a killer picks off the guests one by one.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/6848

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 13
- Episode runtime: 42 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: mystery, thriller, horror
- Created by: Ari Schlossberg
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Elaine Cassidy, Christopher Gorham, Katie Cassidy, Cameron Richardson, Jim Beaver, C.J. Thomason, Adam Campbell, Claudette Mink
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232320/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: suspenseful, tense, brutal, glossy, paranoid

## What critics say

Audiences rated the single season positively as a suspenseful wedding-island murder mystery, though it is judged a mid-level slasher-style whodunit.

## Synopsis

Harper's Island (2009) is an American network whodunit thriller series created by Ari Schlossberg for CBS. Abby Mills (Elaine Cassidy) arrives with a group of family and friends at a secluded island for a destination wedding, where her relatives and old friends have gathered for a week of celebration. Henry Dunn (Christopher Gorham) and Trish Wellington (Katie Cassidy) sit at the center of the group's tangled relationships, while Charlie Mills (Jim Beaver) keeps a watchful eye over the festivities. As the wedding events begin, a murderer begins claiming victims one by one, and each episode turns the suspicion inward, exposing old grudges and hidden secrets among the guests. The engine of the story is the fear that anyone in the circle could be the killer, with every revelation narrowing the list of suspects. The thirteen-episode run is a single continuing mystery built on week-by-week revelations and a rotating set of suspects. The tone is taut and suspenseful, with a glossy, sun-bleached island setting contrasting sharply with the brutal violence. Fans of Scream, And Then There Were None and Lost will find resonance in its isolated cast, slasher-tinged dread and puzzle-box storytelling.

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