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Created by Andy Breckman, The Good Cop Premieres on Netflix September 21.
Back in the ninety’s, there was a German crime drama that was very popular where I used to live. The show was called "DERRICK" which was the name of the lead (Horst Tappert-RIP) who ran around and solved crimes with a group of other junior detectives. It was a solid drama, and even though I watched a translated version and I could see how out of sync with the translation their lips were, it was an entertaining show that I looked forward to watching every week. This show came to mind when I read about Netflix’s new crime drama The Good Cop. So, spare a few minutes and read through this very brief preview if you can call it that. I apologize before I continue because this will not be like the regular previews I usually do. A different and very negative draft has been sitting in a WIP folder on my computer for two months, and I finally decided not to post it. This was probably cowardly, and even though I enjoy discussing shows that disappoint, this was a tad too critical. Going in I thought maybe this will be a delightful Friday night type crime solving hour that required a little less thinking on my part. In other words, an enjoyable, relaxing binge however that was not the case.
The show stars Tony Caruso Sr. (Tony Danza) and his son Tony Caruso Jr. (Josh Groban). The senior Caruso is a disgraced semi-retired detective, and the other is a do-gooder and a stickler for rules but with a kind of Mr. Beanish demeanor but not as absurd. The season has ten episodes each with a different crime that the younger Caruso and his partner Cara Vasquez (Monica Barbaro) try to solve. The older Caruso also is caught up in an investigation which meanders along, and when you get to the meat of it at the end, it is somewhat underwhelming. Isiah Whitlock Jr. appears as Burl Loomis, an older detective who is still nostalgic about the old days solving crimes with the dirty senior Caruso.
For a police procedural which is how Netflix has sold the show, The Good Cop has no direction. I am not quite sure what they were trying to achieve because they do not get there in any form or way. The show uses dry humor albeit poorly, and it struggles to help the audience connect with its characters. The senior Caruso loves his son but does not think the junior has the
Groban and Barbaro have no chemistry despite the writers overwhelming effort to build this sexual tension between them with each episode. They solve cases but spend a lot of time squabbling over the procedures and who is the best CSI when they get to the crime scenes. Whitlock, on the other hand, is here to fill the diversity quota but adds no value at all. One of the scenes that annoyed me to no end was at a spa which was run by a Chinese woman. Senior Caruso comes in for acupuncture to help ease his anxiety. The technician informs him that she is an adjunct doctor when he asks for credentials and the dialogue is cringe-worthy. The session gets interrupted after he hears the voice of a man he had been trying to track down for many years from one of his cold cases. He proceeds to walk with the needles on his feet and all the other pressure points that they had been placed on. Use your own imagination here and tell me what you think happens because I was flabbergasted by the whole thing.
The entire show is a mess even with some sub-par acting from good actors like Danza and Whitlock. This whole affair feels like a joke to them and if that’s what the show was going for then bravo because they succeeded. I love Groban, but in this, he is flat and boring. Barbaro definitely took one for the team here, as for Danza he apparently has a lot of time on his hands, or maybe this was only a passion project for him. The entire season is filmed with an overcast look with a little bit of a dull sunset in the background. Despite its current time frame, it feels like you are watching a black and white TV show from the ninety’s. This doesn't even give you the bates motel vibe it’s just somber. Remember Derrick, the show I mentioned above? Well, you should find it and watch it because it is far superior to The Good Cop.
The Good Cops worst crime is they didn't get Josh Groban to belt out anything worthy to keep the audience pacified at the end. I wished he had sung something to maybe help rescue this terrible show.
Don’t forget to watch The Good Cop on Netflix
