'Grimm' Season 1 finale tonight: Sleeper show gets its own fairy-tale ending -- Season 2

NUP_148907_0498.JPGView full sizeThe green of the Oregon woods look almost supernaturally intense on "Grimm," the series about a Portland detective, Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) who can see the creatures lurking below seemingly ordinary Portlanders' surface (such as Adalind, above, the character played by Claire Coffee).
When "Grimm" debuted in October, TV experts predicted it had as much chance of clicking with viewers as a werewolf has of playing the cello. The premise - a Portland homicide detective discovers he's descended from a line of criminal profilers known as Grimms - made it the second new series of the 2011-12 season to draw on fairy tales. The other, "Once Upon a Time," was getting all the buzz and a high-profile Sunday time slot. "Once Upon a Time" featured well-known actors, including Ginnifer Goodwin ("Big Love"), Jennifer Morrison ("House") and Robert Carlyle ("The Full Monty").

The filmed- and set-in-Portland "Grimm," on the other hand, starred David Giuntoli - not exactly a household name. And Silas Weir Mitchell, best-known for playing deranged characters in "Prison Break" and "My Name Is Earl." By the time the "Grimm" pilot episode aired, "Once Upon a Time" had already premiered to impressive ratings. "Grimm," by contrast, was sneaking in the side door. It aired on Friday, traditionally a low night for TV viewing. And "Grimm" was going up against other shows targeted to fans of the fantasy genre, "Fringe" on Fox and "Supernatural," on the CW.

Down came the prediction from the experts: This TV town wasn't big enough for two fairy tale shows. Plus, there wasn't enough room for three fantasy shows on Friday. "Grimm" would be lucky if it lasted a month.

While it's a little early to say that "Grimm" lived happily ever, the show turned out to be a sleeper success for NBC. So we come to tonight's Season 1 finale knowing that Season 2 is on the way. The ratings haven't been spectacular, but they're steady: "Grimm" averages 6.4 million viewers overall. According to an NBC spokesperson, it's the top scripted series among the broadcast networks in the 9 p.m. Friday timeslot for viewers aged 18-49, the demographic advertisers most value. The show also gets a bump when time-shifted DVR viewing is added.

More important is the creative good news: "Grimm" has steadily improved as the season has gone along. The hero, Nick Burkhardt (Giuntoli), can see the supernatural creatures, aka "Wesen," lurking beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary Portlanders. Tonight's finale comes as the show is on a roll, with a more confident balance between fantasy and police-procedural elements and the cast clicking as an ensemble.

For local viewers, especially, "Grimm" has been an enjoyable ride. It's no longer novel to see Portland locations on a TV show, as both "Leverage" and "Portlandia" have filmed on location here. But "Grimm" has made Portland and the surrounding landscape look both familiar and exaggeratedly exotic. The green of the forests pops with almost three-dimensional lushness; the city's streets, neighborhoods and mossy-roofed houses look glamorous and mysterious. And the local references are generally spot-on, whether it's a casual mention of OHSU, a visit to Helvetia Tavern, or tossed-off references to Tigard, Beaverton and Troutdale.

Who would have thought a show that gives us Oregon State University sports fans who are literally beavers (Eisenbibers, in Wesen parlance) would feel so true to Portland life? Danny Bruno, who plays the normal-seeming guy who turns into a toothy Eisenbiber, is just one of many local actors who have gotten roles on "Grimm."

From the start, "Grimm" creators David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf have said they wrote "Grimm" to take place in Portland and environs because the area reminded them of the Black Forest, where the Brothers Grimm fairy tales were set. When news broke that NBC was renewing "Grimm," Greenwalt and Kouf wrote in an email that Portland "is its own character in our show."

Giuntoli echoed that feeling during a conference call with reporters earlier this week. "We could not do it without Portland," Giuntoli said of filming "Grimm" on location. The city and the woods, he said, "makes it creepy, and it can help do the acting for you when you're out on location, and it's raining and you look like you're in ... the forest from the Mesozoic era."

Tonight's episode is called "Woman in Black" and guest-stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as the mysterious lady of the title, who arrives in Portland for reasons yet to be revealed. Will Giuntoli's character reveal his Grimm powers to his girlfriend? Will Mitchell's character, Monroe, make a romantic move on Rosalee (Bree Turner), who joins the show as a regular in Season 2?

We'll know soon enough. Oh, and if you see any Hexenbieste, Daemonfeuer, Reinigen or Ziegevolk wandering around town this summer, don't be alarmed. The "Grimm" cast and crew return to Portland in late May to begin filming Season 2.

-- Kristi Turnquist