The mid-season point of the American tv schedule is upon us and there’s new shows replacing past failures and fighting for their own spots. One promising show is FOX’s high-concept police drama, ‘APB‘…
FOX‘s APB takes a high-concept and gives it a topical spin. When tech-billionaire Gideon Reeves (Justin Kirk) and his childhood friend are caught in a grocery-store shoot-out that takes his friend’s life, Gideon is appalled by the lack of real investigation into the crime – something the force blames on lack of numbers, lack of resources and a crime-rate that doesn’t allow true justice to many who deserve it. So Gideon decides to embarrass the politicians who are shrugging and merely offering platitudes: give him Chicago Police Precinct 13 and he’ll channel $100 million of his own personal money into giving them a whole raft of new equipment and resources to be on the cutting edge of tackling crime… or don’t… and have to explain to the tax-payer WHY they turned down such an offer.
Though it’s a high-concept show which will have a procedural element to it, the show could be debuting at the right time: when there’s an outcry in the United States that takes in differing viewpoints, with both police and civilians being hurt… there’s a view that the police aren’t equipped to fit crime, that they aren’t trained well enough to defuse situations and that there’s distrust on all sides. The show is also looking to highlight the controversies over ‘private’ police and whether an influx of cash is the only fix-all needed. It certainly could be interesting if it truly decides to tackle the big issues of the day, even with a slight sf twist…
Directed by Len Wiseman, it debuts 6th February.
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