CBS is about to debut “Battle Creek,” a new series about two mismatched law enforcement officers with polar opposite views of the world. The series stars Josh Duhamel as charming FBI agent Milt Chamberlain, and Dean Winters as jaded, gruff police detective Russ Agnew. After Milt opens an FBI field office at the police station in Battle Creek, Michigan, he chooses Russ to be his partner. They must work together to clean up the streets, but their disparate methods of solving crimes makes that difficult.
SpoilerTV got a chance to talk to Duhamel, Winters and executive producer David Shore (“House”) about the upcoming series. Shore didn’t waste any time in complimenting his leading men. He told us Duhamel’s was the first name that came up for the part of Milt.
“Josh is a pretty man,” Shore says laughing. “And the character is a pretty character. It’s this character that the sun kind of shines out of his ass all the time. This is a guy who is really, really trying hard to do good and be honorable and to trust people and respect people.”
But Duhamel’s good looks weren’t the only reason he was tapped for the part. That kind of character can also get boring. Shore says Duhamel was able to steer him away from that fate. “Josh’s character, frankly, in lesser hands could have really fallen into just being a two-dimensional goody two-shoes. It’s a tricky part. It has to be somebody that’s more complicated than that. There’s more to him – and [Josh] had that right from the start.”
Duhamel says the character is much deeper than he seems, which is both the challenge and the fun in playing him. “He is a guy who I think really does want to do the right thing. There is a moral code that he follows and he believes that positivity attracts positivity. But as an actor I didn’t want to play a guy who is just a pretty boy in a nice suit. They promised me early on that there was a lot more to this guy than that. There will be cracks in that facade that will start to develop. This guy isn’t all that he pretends to be.”
Duhamel emphasizes that you don’t know much about Milt’s personal life – he’s all about work. But there’s a reason why he came to Battle Creek, which is not the typical next step for a rising FBI agent. For whatever reason, he is trying to start over in a new town and doesn’t want many people to know about his past. We may not find out details right away but Duhamel can tell us this: “Underneath everything he’s very troubled. He’s just trying to get himself together and doing the best job that he can for the FBI. Unfortunately the truth always comes out in the end and you never really can outrun your past.”
Shore says as the other half of the emerging buddy cop duo, Winters also created a character beyond a simple type. “He had to be a guy that was tough and cynical and yet somehow in his face and his eyes, we sense something more. [These two characters are] radically different, and yet there is a commonality between them as well. So we had a lot of talk about how we achieve that on film.”
One thing they didn’t have to talk much about was chemistry. The actors say they had it from the start. Winters tells us, “[Josh and I] first met when I drove onto the lot at the studios and I almost ran him over in my car. That’s a true story. He gave me a huge hug and I was like, ‘Wow, look at this guy.’ Then it was game on.”
That spark is necessary in a show about partners. But Winters says this isn’t your average law enforcement duo. “It felt like a fresh take on the buddy cop drama in that you have these two characters who have a lot of respect for each other but they’re not buddies, to say the least.” In fact, they’re at constant odds with each other. Duhamel says if their characters reflected any past law enforcement duo, it would be Turner and Hooch. (“Josh would be Hooch, by the way,” Winters laughs.)
That choice for inspired duo gives you an idea of the feel of the series. ““Tonally it’s different,” explains Duhamel. “There’s something a little bit tongue-in-cheek about it. Some of the crimes that you see here, you won’t necessarily see on other shows. That’s what I really love.”
Shore adds, “We were playing with expectations. It’s really important to us to be grounded and real and the scary stuff be scary. But it’s fun at the same time.”
“Battle Creek” premieres Sunday, March 1 at 10/9c on CBS, after new episodes of “Madam Secretary” and “The Good Wife.”
Check out Daniel van der Veer's advance preview of the pilot episode here.
Are you looking forward to "Battle Creek?" Do the characters sound intriguing? What do you think of the casting? Voice your opinions in the comments below.
