letterten 2010-11 fall preview | fox

Fox Monday 9:00pm

debuts Midseason

concept from	The city of Chicago is a paradox that serves as the setting for Ride-Along, a new drama from Shawn Ryan. During a ride-along, a civilian spends a shift in the passenger seat of a squad car, observing the work day of a police officer. But in this series, the audience is the passenger, taking an unpredictable ride through the streets of Chicago and navigating crime and corruption with the most respected - and notorious - cops in the city. Jarek Wysocki is a local legend and larger-than-life veteran of the Chicago Police Department. Like the city of Chicago, Jarek is razor blades and brass knuckles wrapped in politeness and egoless charm - a man who throws away partners the way others throw away tissues. Teresa Colvin arrived at the pinnacle of the Chicago Police Department in a short period of time. She's determined to implement changes before the mud that is Chicago politics clogs her office. As a result of Teresa's difficult choices, she has made some powerful enemies along the way, including two street gangs, the police officers' union and a city alderman who proves to be a dangerous adversary...
stars	Jason Clarke (Public Enemies, Brotherhood), Jennifer Beals (Lie to Me, The L Word), Matt Lauria (Friday Night Lights), Devin Kelley (Tease), Todd Williams (In Plain Sight, CSI), Delroy Lindo (Kidnapped), Billy Lush (The Black Donnellys)
producers	Shawn Ryan (Lie To Me, The Shield)
studio	20th Century Fox Television, MiddKid Productions

my take

It's from Shawn Ryan, the creator of The Shield, which puts it way above most anything else. (I consider The Shield to be one of the finest (if not the finest) police show in TV history.) We, the audience, are taken along on a police ride along, presumably seeing things the police want us to see as well as things they'd rather not. As with all dramas today, most of the characters seem to live in the gray area, opposed to black or white. That's a good thing. Clips were promising, but not mind-blowing. I'll be checking it out, 99% due to Shawn Ryan, but I have a feeling it might get lost in the Midseason shuffle.