‘The Good Cop’ is an American comedy-drama and murder mystery web series that airs on Netflix. The show first premiered on September 21, 2018. It has been created by Andy Breckman, known for the Emmy Award-winning series, ‘Monk’.
This police procedural, however, is an adaptation of the Israeli show of the same name, which has been created by Tomer and Erez Aviram and produced by Yoav Gross. The premise of the series sees “honest cop Tony Jr. get advice from his unscrupulous father, retired NYPD officer Tony Sr., about everything from his job to his love life.”
While there are plenty of police procedurals out there, like ‘FBI‘, or ‘NCIS‘, not a lot of them focus on the family aspect of things. Even ‘Blue Bloods’, which is a show about an entire family in various ranks of law enforcement, keep the family side on the low, and the professional crime-solving side in the forefront. However, this series is more about a father and son relationship than just the cases.
Even though a lot of fans loved the familial aspect of the show, some critics found it a little shallow, and called it, “A show with frustratingly little on its mind, “The Good Cop” quickly establishes its two leads as familiar personality types and then reiterates who they are, over and over, for ten episodes, with little modulation or development.”
The Good Cop Cast: Who is in it?
The main cast for ‘The Good Cop’ includes the following as the main members: Tony Danza appears as Tony Caruso Sr. He is seen as a tough and streetwise cop who just did seven years in prison for corruption charges. However, he knows the ins and outs of the criminal underworld, and while he cannot officially interact with law enforcement, he is determined to prove that he has what it takes to solve homicide cases and fight crimes.
Josh Groban plays the role of Tony Caruso Jr, his son. The apple could not have fallen further from the tree in this case, even if it wanted to. The son is a straight shooter, and completely by the book. He tries to avoid any and all departmental infractions, even minor ones.
Monica Barbaro is seen as Cara Vasquez, Tony Jr.’s subordinate, and the parole officer to his father. Isiah Whitlock Jr. appears as Burl Loomis, a veteran NYPD detective. The ensemble certainly seems to have an exciting balance of experience and youth. There are some recurring and guest characters who add the extra flavor to make the show even more enjoyable.
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The Good Cop Plot: What is it about?
According to Netflix, the main plot of ‘The Good Cop’ is about a father-son duo which sees the former teaching important life lessons to survive in this vicious world. “Former NYPD officer Tony, who never followed the rules, offers street-wise advice to his overly cautious son, Tony Jr., a straight-laced NYPD detective”. The duo is seen living together and soon become unofficial partners, as the father offers streetwise tips to his ultra-cautious son, on matters ranging from police cases to women in his life.
Variety sums up the show well, saying, “It’s unfair to expect “The Good Cop” to have anything to say about contemporary policing beyond that it literally exists; that’s not the show it’s trying to be. But that’s the problem, really. It’s not trying to be much of anything. The relationship between a cop thrown off the force for his misdeeds and his by-the-book son would seem to provide some creative ferment. Instead, it just gives rise to basically good-natured grumbling, with Groban trying his best with an unappealing character and Danza playing himself once again. Absent real conflict or characters more than inconsistently drawn stereotypes, “The Good Cop” is a throwaway, an unworthy addition to a streaming service that has the cultural capital, if not always the desire, not to have to settle for mediocrity.”
Just as a point of contrast, viewers might want to take a look at the subversive ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’, which is proof of how clever shows are made, and how far we have come from the kind of content that ‘The Good Cop’ tries to feed us. However, there is a degree of bland vanilla nostalgia to the entire series, be it the presentation, the characterization, or the music, which might stand out to some of the viewers, who want their shows to sedate them.
Hopefully, this is not the case, and if there is another season, we expect to see the show headed in a much better direction than the one it is on currently. Having come from the same mind that made ‘Monk’, one would expect a little creativity when it came to drawing characters, and not making everyone so stereotypically one dimensional as they currently are.
The Good Cop Release Date: When will it premiere?
‘The Good Cop’ season 1 released on Netflix’s streaming platform on 21 September 2018. However, in absence of positive feedback from critics, and a marked lack of warm reception, the platform decided to cancel the show as of November 13, 2018. Though, fans should not lose all their hopes. There’s still a possibility that some other network picks up the show. If that happens, we will update you about ‘The Good Cop’ season 2 release date.
The Good Cop Trailer:
Check out the trailer for Season 1 to refresh your memories of the show.
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