For the past two days you have, hopefully, read my stories on K-Ville, FOX's new drama set in present day New Orleans and focusing on a couple of police officers played by Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser.
In essence, the show is a relatively standard cop-drama with the hook that these officers are from The Big Easy and want to help put their city back together. Marlin Boulet's (Anthony Anderson) life is a struggle, with his wife living in Atlanta with their daughter, and Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser) has secrets he is trying desperately to keep. Both have that "cop on the edge" quality that it seems is essential to being an officer on television today.
It is almost without question that the show will be criticized when it has a sense of humor (for not taking the events seriously enough) or when it is dark (for not showing the hope residents in the city have). The pilot does a fair job of handling the dark aspects without failing to find some humor, a line that will be tough to maintain.
The real question however is whether or not the public wants to be reminded of the tragedy week after week. The show, creator and EP Jonathan Lisco tells us, will mainly be about the officers on the force, their relationship, and their reactions to everything that is happening, but the hurricane will always be there in the background.
I do credit FOX and Lisco with treating the situation seriously. The show in no way feels exploitative and that by itself is deserving of credit. It would have been very easy for FOX to put out a show that willfully, openly capitalized on the tragedy, and K-Ville does not do that. This does not mean the show will be a success or that it will attract viewers, but it is a step in the right direction.
But enough of what I think. The pilot episode can be watched streaming from the FOX website (it will be active until August 31). Take a look and tell me what you think.
Article comments
1 - K-ville gets good ratings in my book
After watching the preview online I am really excited to see where this story goes. As for your comment about not being sure if the American public wishes to be reminded of Katrina week after week, I believe that it will be good for us to see how much work is still left to be done and that the tragedy is not yet over.
Good characters, unique plot, realistic setting, I think Fox has got a winner.