'Tommy' Episode 1: Top cop inspires us to fight for our rights while addressing social issues
The latest crime drama thriller on CBS network's late night line-up brings you a refreshing hour-long watch. The show introduces us to LAPD’s new chief of police, Abigail Thomas. She is not only the first female to be in her position but also a lesbian, a liberal and a mother who would not take bureaucratic nonsense standing down. The series pilots with Thomas aka Tommy, who dives into her first case as soon she joins the force.
An LAPD officer prevents ICE from taking a young Cuban woman suspected to be an illegal immigrant, with the good intention of saving her from the immigration aggression. He even says how ICE has been picking up immigrant children from schools in order to force their parents into deportation.
As a part of the city police, Thomas has to take a call on whether to let the woman go and suspend the officer or find the truth. Tommy, as we discover, does everything possible to investigate and she finds out that the woman is a victim of a political cover-up.
We then see Tommy talk about how she has been a victim of sexual assault in the early days of her career. The case was turned around and proved her to be the aggressor. Tommy lost a decade of her career in prime. Despite speaking the truth, she neither got a resolution nor her work back at that time. Instead, she was hailed as a 'feminist icon'. We do see such cases and aplenty, don't we? Since the #MeToo movement started, we have had many such Tommies talking about personal experiences and the trauma they faced.
While we walk through Tommy’s experiences, she also declares herself to be a lesbian and proudly so. But it is not her that we need to worry about. The city Mayor, who hired her, seems to be unfettered by her sexuality, but his chief of staff thinks otherwise. Now, we all know that irrespective of all pride movements and large scale acceptance, there are still discriminations towards the LGBTQ+ community and unfairly so. A middle-aged, lesbian, police chief serves as a strong inspiration for those who continue to fight for their rights.
With such significant issues addressed in the very first episode, the series promises to be right in sync with every little thing that is burning the planet right now. It is indeed assuring to see the show taking such social concern into consideration and making our lead character deal with it just as it should have been earlier.
Let’s see what more 'Tommy' has to offer when it comes back next Thursday at 10pm/9c, only on CBS.