3 out of 5

Created by: William Finkelstein, Mike Flynn

covers season 1

After an initial few very forced episodes, East New York is able to find its way to a solid spot amidst modern day casual-view police procedurals, using its location and talented cast to (lightly) touch on many of the modern day concerns regarding the police and the politics of their protection.

The politics are probably the most rewarding part of this show: when DI Regina (Amanda Warren) is promoted to commander of the titular locale, exploring the roadblocks in her way to try to enact change has the all-too-real taint of truth, getting caught between serving her bosses (including assistant chief John Suarez, played by Jimmy Smits; mayor hopeful Raymond Sharpe, played by Darien Sills-Evans), juggling the expectations of her officers, and also, y’know, actually trying to serve the public. Weaving this through concerns of racism and classicism and police violence is a tall order for a mass appeal weekly show; ENY does an admirable job of not glad-handing too much or proposing unrealistic “fixes;” at the same time, it doesn’t go down a Shield hole of hopelessness, and tries to present the sense that we can do better.

That said, there are those tone deaf missteps where some cops who break the rules get passes ’cause they meant well, and some muddled messaging where the writers can’t figure out if they’re making some brief social statement or trying to build a character arc. And if the politics work, the rest of it is all pretty average TV fare, shoving in romantic subplots that aren’t necessarily carried by the cast, though coppers Elizabeth Rodriguez, Olivia Luccardi, and Richard Kind come out very well, earning their screentime alongside the often excellent Warren – with, again, the caveat that the first couple episodes are very rough while the show finds its footing.

So, on the one hand, nothing new; on the other, as stations still feel out what a modern day police procedural can look like, East New York weaves a generally good balance between popcorn viewing and something with more serious aspirations, willing to not always build towards a happy ending.