Flint Town - Season 1

Flint Town doesn't offer easy solutions, but it does provide something valuable: a calm, reasoned presentation of the hope for another idea expressed in that speech given in the aftermath of Dallas, "that we are not as divided as we seem."

Flint Town isn't a rah-rah thing, nor does it paint a fuzzy picture about the spirit of the city or its citizens. Flint is a timebomb, and Flint Town is an impressively crafted tick-tock of things going wrong with a place.

With cinematography, direction and subject matter this pin-sharp, the risk is making it all look too slick, even glamorous.

What keeps you watching, rather, is the wider drama with members of the community, who complain about the police department and accuse it of squandering resources.

The new eight-episode documentary series "Flint Town" (Netflix, streaming) is like a more artful episode of "Live PD" (A&E, 9 p.m.) as it mostly follows the police side of community conflict.

There is no doubt this is going to become one of Netflix's best documentary offerings to date - which is no small accomplishment when looking at the existing slate.

What's great about Flint Town is its really impartial stance and dedication to documenting what is in a non-judgmental way.

These glimmers of hope appear throughout the eight episodes, a punchy reminder of Flint's resilience.

Brutal, unflinching, real (though it's worth remembering they're not going to forget they're being filmed), Flint Town so rich it's almost impossible to binge. You need to pause between courses, to take it in, even if a lot of is hard to digest.

Even though the series emanates from a position within the Flint PD, Flint Town does not sugar coat the progress made, or not made, in the 13 months of observation. It finds some hope and points to some attempted solutions.