Q: During the summer, Fox heavily promoted a new cop-buddy show with Jessica Alba, called "L.A.'s Finest." Now when I watch "L.A.'s Finest," it's not a comedy buddy show and Alba doesn't seem to be in it. What am I missing?
A: There is indeed a show on Fox called "L.A.'s Finest," and it does co-star Jessica Alba. She and Gabrielle Union play police partners operating in what Fox called "the universe of the Jerry Bruckheimer 'Bad Boys' franchise." That is, Union's character, Syd Burnett, is the sister of Marcus Burnett, Martin Lawrence's character in "Bad Boys." The show aspires to the action-and-comedy mix of those movies. Alba's character is Nancy McKenna, i.e. the partners are named Syd and Nancy — an allusion to Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. And the episode titles are all taken from the names of movies.
The two seasons of the series premiered on Spectrum TV's Originals on Demand channel, where you can still find both seasons. Fox picked up the rights for broadcast, to fill one of the gaps caused by pandemic-related production delays. It has been airing the first season but has not yet scheduled the second.
Another delayed show
Q: Months ago, I read that Chris Meloni was getting his own show as his Elliot Stabler character from "Law & Order: SVU," starting in September. I can't find it. Do you know where it is?
A: NBC did indeed announce "Law & Order: Organized Crime" for its fall lineup, with the show set to air on Thursday nights following "SVU." In it, NBC said, Stabler "returns to the NYPD to battle organized crime after a devastating personal loss. However, the city and police department have changed dramatically in the decade he's been away."
But while "SVU" will return Nov. 12, "Organized Crime" has been delayed until 2021. Part of that is undoubtedly because of the effect of the pandemic on production. In addition, in October the series' showrunner left. And Deadline.com reported that "a decision was made to take extra time crafting the new series ... (and) there has been extra scrutiny on portraying police work on TV following the death of George Floyd and the national unrest it sparked."
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