Fox's 'Deputy' featuring Stephen Dorff tries to give a Western twist to your regular cop drama
Fox is all set to present the audience with a brand new procedural with active essences of the typically wild, wild Western. As the mid-season hiatus culminates for decade-long procedurals like CBS' 'NCIS' franchise and NBC's similar 'Chicago', Fox's expectedly action-packed cop drama 'Deputy' will feature Stephen Dorff as Deputy Bill Hollister - a man who steps up as the Los Angeles County sheriff after his predecessor dies of a heart attack.
In most ways, 'Deputy' looks like your regular cop show with twists and turns that are able to fill out the 40-minute timestamp for network shows. But then come strutting horses in stables and stoic proclamations of the lawmen's honor and integrity that give off the western classic themes. It would sound quite familiar to a Buster Scruggs ballad. The fact that Dorff is a seasoned alum of 'True Detective' also helps!
As revealed by the official synopsis of the show, the plot revolves around a modern-day cop drama, with Dorff's Bill Hollister taking the lead. The story "blends the spirit of a classic Western with a modern-day attitude and gritty authenticity. When the Los Angeles County’s sheriff dies, an arcane rule forged back in the Wild West thrusts the most unlikely man into the job: a fifth-generation lawman, more comfortable taking down bad guys than navigating a sea of politics. He leads a skilled team of ambitious and complicated human beings who won’t rest until justice is served."
A look at the official trailer doesn't really add to the synopsis but it does establish why 'Deputy' has the potential to stand apart in an age where cop-dramas are failing to hit the mark. The trailer opens with police sirens wailing in the background, as Bill walks into a stable with horses on both sides. This isn't your regular cop hopping out of his vehicle with the done and dusted "NYPD, freeze!" command droning on and being jutted out unnecessarily. For Bill, all that matters when it comes to his job is "the badge, the gun, and what's in his heart," but that said, he isn't sure of the task he is about to undertake.
Brags of hunting gangsters, human traffickers quickly lay down the high octane essence of the show with shots being fired from moving vehicles, as bullets rain down on the police car. And even though Bill says he is your man at hunting down pretty much everyone, as 'policy and procedure may be damned', this whole do-or-die sentiment mostly resonates with latent melodrama, that can somehow be expected to stay covered up in the name of action. Bill is your classic "what did you do guy?" -- the one that his authorities know has something to do every time there's a mysterious bust in the city. They can't do with him, can't do without him, and in all of this conundrum, his only respite is his wife Teresa.
Played by Natalia Cigliuti, Yara is Bill's voice of confidence, assuring him that even though he might not be a politician as his worst fears threaten him, he still is exactly what the authorities need. So here's hoping that 'Deputy' will prove to be more than just a giant bunch of people trying to feed Bill's insecurities over being fit for the major responsibility he has been dumped with.
'Deputy' premiers on Thursday, January 2, on FOX.