Shots Fired

Deputy Joshua Beck is one of the few black officers in a small North Carolina town. He stops a young white man driving in the black neighborhood. The traffic stop turns into a fatal police shooting. Governor Patricia Eamons requests a DOJ investigation. They send black prosecutor Preston Terry, only one year out of law school. DOJ investigator Ashe Akino is dealing with anger issues and a custody fight for her daughter. Alicia Carr is the mother of the victim. Shameeka Campbell is the mother of a dead black teen in an unsolved shooting. Sheriff Platt and Lieutenant Breeland are hiding a controversial police program. Janae James is an activist pastor railing for social justice. Arlen Cox is a developer planning to build a prison.

Fox claims this mid-season replacement to be a limited series. There are ten episodes and no second season. It is definitely ripped from the headlines and plays plenty with the race card. It plays it a little too hard for my taste. It even turns the hose on black protesters. It would serve the show better by avoiding some of these hot button tropes. The acting is solid. The story has some compelling elements. Pushing those buttons so many times only detracts from a well-written crime thriller.