The heading actually sums up much of this show. It was slow but in a good way and the most fascinating aspect was how the criminal event around which the entire series centred (the inadvertent running-down by a young police officer of a young black lad) in itself one ostensibly small and not unusual event but this led to a rich and deep portrait of a society (the USA) and groups within that society - racial/social/work.
The social differences were very important; many characters had moved from one area (the female lead was born in a comfortable middle-class area but lived and worked in a darker and grimmer one which has led to her estrangement from her family, the young police officer who was the central focus had moved away from his deadbeat father to make the sort of home life that he never had and worked now in a very different grittier area to that where he previously was…East wide where white-collar crime was the norm, rather than the street-based drug industry) These are just two examples but as they are of central importance to the characters and their careful depiction, these social issues become inextricably linked to the plot. And it is these social issues and the effect that they have on individuals and groups that actually are the most interesting and dramatic aspects of the story.
The importance of the church to the black community is also shown - but is is shown in a critical way; they demand great commitment from their members and yet, as was pointed out by an outsider, the will still charge their congregation members for some aspects of the support they give.
The conclusion was remarkably tense; right to the final moments when the young cop who killed the young lad and was then involved in a cover-up under the direction of his immediate superiors, was finally giving his testimony on the stand. I really did not know how much he would say and if he would break ranks. The ending provided some degree of catharsis but only minor - and one was not really surprised, even though one desperately wanted the whole corrupt edifice to come crashing down.
Sadly and unsurprisingly based on a similar case in a different country I believe, this series gave a painfully honest look at the USA and aspects of its society that is particularly appropriate for today. Well worth seeing.