Plenty of great shows get canceled after one or two seasons, and the lucky ones build up enough of a cult following or garner enough critical praise so that they’re remembered even after their very brief stints on air. Others though just go completely under the radar, garnering mostly positive buzz but never enough that the show really gets much notice or enough word-of-mouth to pick up. Detroit 1-8-7 should have gotten past its first season, its writing and cast certainly warranted at least a second season commitment, but the audience just wasn’t there. The hit-or-miss destiny that overtook it makes sense as it has similarities to successful franchises like The Shield and NYPD Blue but it also resembles the short-lived Boomtown and the tenacious Southland. It’s the amalgam of cop shows popular and unappreciated, and even with the first season as good as it is, it’s the only season, and that calls into question whether or not viewers want to invest in storylines they know won’t go any further.
Shot on location in the notoriously crime-stricken city of Detroit, the series primarily follows Detective Louis Fitch (Michael Imperioli) and his youngblood partner Detective Damon Washington (Jon Michael Hill) with the team of Sergeant Jesse Longford (James McDaniel) and Detective Vikram Mahajan (Shaun Majumder) making up the other driving force in the story. The cases range from homeless youths frozen in ice to drive-by shootings gone wrong. The supporting cast includes Lieutenant Maureen Mason (Aisha Hinds), a refreshingly strong female character (but who doesn’t get enough screen time), intern Wendy (Erin Way), and Sanchez’s partner, Detective John Stone (D.J. Cotrona), getting back into the routine after a lengthy time undercover. To give Detroit 1-8-7 a larger arc, the first season gradually reveals Fitch’s past career in New York before he moved to Detroit, explores his will they, won’t they romance with fellow officer Detective Ariana Sanchez (Natalie Martinez), and puts Fitch as the focus of a federal investigation which helps to introduce the season’s final multi-episode story.
The dedication to character development, even with its large ensemble cast, and its willingness to injure and kill characters gives the show more immediacy, more danger. Save for one character, Detroit 1-8-7 succeeds in fleshing out the cast and leaving lots of open questions for future exploration down the road as many personal and professional threads are started for each character and done so in such a way that you’re actually curious to see how they would have played out had the series gotten its second season. Its major and arguably single failure of a character, which stems from their treatment in the very first episode, is a rushed arc that comes out of nowhere and then wraps up just as suddenly. Meanwhile, the other characters grow steadily during scenes of off-duty interaction, where Majumder and McDaniel really shine. By contrast, the failed character is weakly defined, but they squeeze in some last-minute presence that his ultimate fate has a bit of credibility. Just not enough, and that makes it hard to care.
What’s truly frustrating is that Detroit 1-8-7 marks the second cop drama starring Michael Imperioli to be axed before its time. The fantastic Life on Mars also showed great promise and had a first season that many other entries in the genre just can’t match, but it never gained the right traction. For fans of Life on Mars, Detroit 1-8-7 will feel like an odd case of déjà vu. After overcoming audience suspicions that Imperioli was little more than a character actor after his time on The Sopranos, his role on Life on Mars put that to rest. In Detroit 1-8-7 he establishes himself as a leading man deserving of a series, now he just needs to find one that audiences will choose over reality television. Therein lies the rub.
DVD Bonus Features
It should come as no surprise that Lionsgate neglected to create extras for the canceled series’ first and only season.
"Detroit 1-8-7: The Complete First Season" is on sale August 30, 2011 and is not rated. Crime, Drama. Directed by Kevin Hooks, Dean White. Written by Jason Richman, Phononzell Williams. Starring DJ Cotrona, Michael Imperioli, James Mcdaniel, Jon Michael Hill, Aisha Hinds, Shaun Majumder, Natalie Martinez.
