PILOT REVIEW: Shades of Blue

SHADES OF BLUE

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ray Liotta, Drea de Matteo, Warren Kole, Dayo Okeniyi, Hampton Fluker, Vincet Laresca, Sarah Jeffery

Created by Adi Hasak
Written by Adi Hasak, Directed by Barry Levinson

THE PREMISE
Shades of Blue is a new cop drama starring Jennifer Lopez as single mother and cop Harlee Santos. She works for a group of corrupt police and has corrupt elements herself until she is caught in an FBI probe and must make a decision who to be loyal to. Her boss is Lt. Matt Wozniak (Ray Liotta) and her co-workers are detectives Tess Nazario (Drea de Matteo), Marcus Tufo (Hampton Fluker), and Carlos Espada (Vincent Laresca). Rounding out the main cast is Santos' FBI handler, Robert Stahl (Warren Kole) and her teenage daughter, Cristina (Sarah Jeffery).

THE REVIEW
I thought there were some very intriguing things about the Shades of Blue pilot, but I'm also not convinced that it's going to rise above the level of a generic cop show. The pilot was promising, though. The corrupt cops angle and someone possibly trying to play both sides is nothing new, but it does set up the show well for future storylines.

The cast was solid but I'm not entirely convinced by J-Lo's acting all the time. She wasn't distractingly bad, but there were moments where I just wasn't buying it. Ray Liotta was better even as he's playing a slightly sleazier version of Hank Voight from Chicago PD. I also liked Warren Kole as the FBI agent. The rest of the cast wasn't particularly memorable and I'm surprised they didn't use a big name like Drea de Matteo more in the pilot. They don't quite seem to know what to do with her yet.

I guess I'm most curious to see where this show goes from here. I'm a fan of cop dramas but it's got to pull me in somehow. For all my enjoyment of Chicago Fire, Chicago PD has never been able to hold my attention and I think it's because I don't find the storylines compelling. Shades of Blue has the added element of the FBI being involved but that can only take this so far. I'm also curious to see if this is going to emerge as more of a procedural or a serial drama or both. There's a lot of things here that scream "standard cop show" and a few things that make me think it might be able to stand out from the pack.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes. I will give this show a couple weeks at least to see how it develops. I'm hopeful but I don't know if I'd say I'm optimistic.