Article first published as SHADES OF BLUE Review on Seat42F.
With
broadcast networks dying rapidly, NBC (like FOX, ABC, and CBS) doubles
down on crime shows, the latest being SHADES OF BLUE, premiering this
week. Set in a close-knit unit in Brooklyn, the series finds Harlee
Santos (Jennifer Lopez, American Idol) entrapped by the FBI and forced
to rat on the people she loves so that she can continue to be present as
the sole parent for her daughter (Sarah Jeffery, Rogue).
The cast is quite a good ensemble. Lopez
is joined by Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) as boss Matt “Woz” Wozniak, Drea
de Matteo (The Sopranos) as fellow detective Tess Nazario, Warren Kole
(The Following) as FBI handler Robert Stahl, and others.
They are not as well used as they should
be, though. True, the characters end up being pretty believable, for
the most part, and there are few glaring missteps that pull viewers out
of the moment. But neither is there any chance for a single one of them
to shine all that much. Lopez gets the meatiest stuff, but either she
isn’t up to showing the necessary layers, or has purposely made the
choice to not allow Harlee to express as much as one expects from this
type of role. This is usually the type of Emmy bait a performer loves,
but Lopez pulls back. Liotta does better when he gets the opportunity,
but that doesn’t come until quite late, and I have doubts about how much
he’ll be allowed similar moments in the future.
My doubts mainly stem from my opinion
that the writing is mediocre. The pilot starts off with some very cheesy
dialogue and ridiculous exchanges, which admittedly get better as the
hour progresses, but never rises to any level that impresses. There is a
compelling narrative within, the cop forced to become a double agent,
which starts to come out as the installment goes on. But it’s not
examined enough, nor are the implications really dwelt on. I know this
is a single episode I’m judging the show on, but the pacing seems to
want to rocket ahead instead of linger on the juicy bits.
SHADES OF BLUE is not a typical
procedural. At least from the pilot, it doesn’t appear that it will be a
case-of-the-week, paint-by-numbers series. Instead, it follows the path
of the network’s Chicago Fire and its spin-offs by making it more about
personal drama than a crime that needs solved. This switch has worked
pretty well for USA, which used to specialize in the procedural format,
but has since deepened to more complex dramas.
However, is that a path that will work
for parent company NBC, or is this just hastening the decline of the
company? I tend to think it’s the latter. Shows that have staying power
tend to be those that offer something new to the landscape. SHADES OF
BLUE, despite being a step up from the trite, repetitive junk that has
been bogging down the non-cable networks of late, is staying too close
to those same boundaries to make much of an impact on a broad audience.
SHADES OF BLUE is about par for the
network, if not a little bit on the higher end, but at a far lower
quality than the same premise would be treated to on FX, AMC, or HBO,
the gold standards of networks today, or Netfix or Amazon, the streaming
rulers. This means it’s probably a mistake for NBC. It may not be bad;
it may even be some of the network’s best fare. But it is not the step
in a new direction that the network needs to save itself.
SHADES OF BLUE premieres Thursday, January 7th on NBC.
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