On Call

Been waiting for a cop drama that could be close in comparison to Southland and Bosch...two of the best! Four episodes in and this show has delivered! Between the body worn camera views and in-car camera footage, the action scenes, it leaves you with and End of Watch/ Southland feel after each episode! So far, no corny, unbelievable investigations, seen on many police shows today, which has been nice to see! Hope it gets the traction it needs to stay around for a few seasons, and new cast members are brought in to continue the storyline. Was upset when Southland left, but this show has brought back those great episodes!

Rookie officer, Diaz, joins the Long Beach police department, and is under the watchful eye of Officer Harmon (Troian Bellisario powerful as ever), who just had one of her past trainee's gunned down. So on the hunt they go for the high-profile killer in what seems to be another typical police series. But the series makers have viewers on edge, never showing the officers private lives, but always on patrol in the concrete jungle of Long Beach, by using jarring handheld images, body-cams, security cameras and the likes as officers navigate the hellish pit of a society unkind to itself. Also the dynamics among the officers is well built-up and handled, never knowing who to trust. A giant learning curve for the rookie, and an intense observational experience for us viewers...

On Call follows the police force in Long Beach, California and all they have to go through protecting and serving the community. It mostly follows a pair of police officers (Trojan Bellisario and Brandon Larracuente) as they respond to call after call on their daily shift. I have to say that I really enjoyed this even more than I expected too. I was just looking for a show to kill some time with and what I found is one of the better cop shows I've seen this year. It's too gritty for network tv so don't expect a show like the ones you see all the time. This is a raw and believable show on what cops have to go through on a daily basis. The episodes are short at a half hour apiece but they pack plenty of excitement in that half hour.

I have really enjoyed the show however have found the episodes to be too short for full development of characters and the story line although that is over story arcs i just feel that by having slightly longer epsisodes more could be achieved. I also would have liked to see more of Lieutenant Bishop protrayed by Lori Loughlin as she is the main reason I tuned in. I really liked the strength of the actors in the show as the female cast were not seen as weak and incapable, they were strong and equal to the male characters. Knowing that Eriq le Selle is at the helm of the show and staring in it was another draw and I think his characters and that of Lori Loughlin need more screen time as we didn't learn much about them as characters and what was driving their actions.

I really enjoyed this, binge watched the entire season in one run. Lots of Southland vibes (although not as good in my opinion), and nice to see a strong female lead who isn't some ridiculous looking femme fatale, a stereotype which Hollywood still seem to struggle with.

However I do think it got a little action movie toward the end, the last few episodes seemed rushed and some shootout screnes a bit too wild west. Harmon's old training officer came across very wooden on screen, not the best acting and the interactions between the two seemed very out of place compared to other performances such as the in car scenes where Harmon and Diaz are talking.

Overall a great watch but I think they need to push a little further in season 2 for this one to stick around.