“I have low tolerance for people who bitch, but if you make an effort, I can teach you the rest.”
This is what Officer Harmon (Troian Bellisario) says to her rookie on his first day on the job as a patrol officer on the streets on LA.
This Amazon Prime TV Show doesn’t waste any time as in the first two minutes of the show a cop (Delgado) is on a call and gets shot and dies on the streets whilst stopping a car. While lying there dying, on lookers are filming her and doing nothing about it.
Immediately after, rookie Diaz (Brandon Larracuente) reports on his first day on the job at Long Beach Police Department. He is assigned to Officer Harmon who you can tell is tough and doesn’t take any shit, however she is conscientiously fair and willing to teach her new protege.
The pair are then straight on call together. From there the episodes are split between the disturbances that Diaz and Harmon are facing every day on the streets from the radio dispatcher and the constant thread of their pursuit of Delgado’s Killer.
Each episode is only around half an hour long which makes you engaged and want to watch more.
It was clever to use the dash cam, body cam and cell footage alongside the conventional handheld camera work. It gave a documentary style to it which was a great touch.
The performance from Bellisario as Harmon (you would know her from Pretty Little Liars), has layers of softness, grit and adds empathy to the show. She displays a rigid stoicism that is very believable. Brandon is lovable as Diaz, and he shows rawness in how he is so reactive on the job. It emphasises how harrowing but thrilling being on call can be.
We also see Harmon and Diaz get confronted on the job and how they deal with each scenario that is put up against them. For Harmon much of it is old hat whereas for Diaz it is literally learning from his mistakes.
The chemistry between these two is solid, but not spectacular which is fine as I don’t think that it was supposed to be a fiery companionship. One minute he trusts Harman and then the next minute he doesn’t, which is a bit jarring, but you understand his reasoning as the story unfolds.
Some people say that we don’t really get to see the background of these characters at a deeper level, but I don’t think that you need to know that. Yes, their personalities are broad. Harmon has a sister who was an ex-police officer and then has gone off the rails and you get to see Harmon’s frustration with her in one of the episodes. As for Diaz, his brother is in prison and his mother hates the police and she doesn’t understand why he has joined. So, a sketch of their backstories, but in the end, it is the action on the street that makes the show what it is.
Long beach is a microcosm environment of LA, with homeless people in tents right next to mansions and beach fronts. The filmmakers use the locations to great effect, although it must be said the citizens always seem pissed at the police which I don’t know is accurate.
The writers have gone for a more generic pathway but maybe they are just being accurate in trying to depict the realities of police work in the US, rather than a deep analysis of character. The police are getting scrutinized now in America with body cams that they must wear and a public that have their phones directed towards them constantly. I think that these issues are tackled with courage and conviction which you do appreciate as a viewer.
However, I don’t think it is supposed to be a deep cop drama. It’s aim ultimately is to entertain, and if it does stick to old tropes then I for one am a supporter.
I really don’t understand why some critics aren’t liking this show, I really don’t get what they want from eight half hour episodes. It is not trying to be Sopranos or Homicide: Life on the Street.
I personally loved it and so did my family.