The "American character" is the main reason I tried this show. Dominic Monaghan is always delightful. If you don't know, he is a Brit. And he is doing a decent job with the NY accent and attitude. His portrayal of a "tough New York cop" is the humor of the show, which is needed in a show like this or it can be terribly dismal. If you have met any guys from New York, this is their general outlook- they are tough because they are from New York, no matter how small they are. I love it. They even bring up the Red Sox vs. Yankees rivalry, which is such a big part of being from Boston (my neck of the woods). The other attitudes about their sports, opinion of guns, so forth, are authentic inside jokes. So I think the nuances of the American character are just lost on an European audience, but a complete delight to us, especially if you realize that the tough New York cop is a hobbit!! So from the sounds of the review from the European viewpoint, it works for both. Watch it!