PILOT REVIEW: Prime Suspect

PRIME SUSPECT

Starring: Maria Bello, Brian F. O'Byrne, Kirk Acevedo, Peter Gerety, Tim Griffin, Damon Gupton, Kenny Johnson, Joe Nieves, and Aidan Quinn
Based on the British series "Prime Suspect", Developed by Alexandra Cunningham
Written by Alexandra Cunningham, Directed by Peter Berg

Prime Suspect is a new remake on NBC of an iconic 1980s British series of the same name starring Helen Mirren. It has a similar plot: female homicide detective Jane Timoney (Maria Bello) finds herself an outcast in the boys club of the department. Many critics have said this is an outdated plot and to some degree, they're right but there's still things to like in this show. Rounding out the main cast includes her boss (Aidan Quinn), father (Peter Gerety), and boyfriend (Kenny Johnson) as well as many co-workers.

THE GOOD: Maria Bello has a lot of strong points in the pilot. She is a take-charge woman and that shows from the very first scene in the taxi. I was skeptical going in about the look of the show - it looked somewhat cheap and stark in promos but I didn't feel that way after I watched it. The aerial shots of New York City were particularly good. The show did have some good character development and a strong and intense chase/fight scene where Bello got knocked around pretty good. The fellow detectives started a bit as caricatures but got better after the heart attack scene. Peter Garety was strong in his one scene as Jane's father. It's a cop show through and through but has the potential to be a good one.

THE BAD: The criticism about this show feeling outdated is true. I'm not saying that there isn't sexism in the workplace, but we have shows with strong female law enforcers all over the place and have for awhile now. This would have had more bite and power if it had premiered 20 years ago. I liked a lot about Maria Bello in the pilot but she needs to make sure the toughness and edge to her doesn't transfer into being too much of a jerk or she will be hard to root for. Finally, Kenny Johnson as the husband was a weak link in his limited role and the scenes at the house weren't as strong as the rest of the show.

BOTTOM  LINE: As I said before, this has the potential to be a good cop show but it shouldn't try to present itself as shattering glass ceilings because other shows have already done that. Even if this show doesn't work, NBC should keep trying shows like this that have the potential for broad appeal because they need shows with broad appeal. This could be a winner or another short-lived cop show. I could see it go either way.