On Call Season 1 Review: An Innovative Approach to Cop Shows

This review contains spoilers.

With the premiere of On Call, many may feel hesitant to give the show a chance. That isn’t rare, considering there are multiple shows about cops and even more of them by Wolf Entertainment.

However, On Call is here to change the game and bring an innovative twist on a genre of TV that we have seen time and time again. Elliot Wolf and Tim Walsh created a show that could refresh and renew the procedural theme.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the show is perfect. In its first season, On Call is still getting to know itself and giving room for the audience to familiarize themselves with the show, the characters, and the storylines. Hopefully, it will have the opportunity to air a second season and continue to grow.

An Innovative Perspective

On Call isn’t just about a case that gets solved and the officers move on to the next case, so each episode changes. Quite the contrary, from the beginning, the mood for the entire show is set in the first few minutes.

The mood leads Harmon’s personality and why she behaves the way she does the entire season. It sets the environment for Diaz’s days in Harmon’s patrol car and every experience he has as a trainee.

The incident with Delgado dictates everything that comes next, and it is the storyline of the entire show. Her scene is the glue that holds On Call together because nothing would have happened had she still been around.

However, that first scene with Delgado introduces viewers to a new kind of cop show. From the first shot, the audience can tell there is something different about On Call that will make it stand out.

Out of all the popular places in California where On Call could take place, it takes place in Long Beach. This helps create a reality that is different from every California-centered TV show. It is a much harsher and raw reality that allows these characters to do their jobs and introduce themselves to the viewers.

However, how viewers are introduced to Long Beach and the patrol officers truly sets On Call apart from other cop shows. Not only does the show offer the regular point of view of any TV show, but it also includes footage from dashcams, bodycams, and cellphone recordings.

These different POVs make the show feel like a documentary or even a reality TV show about patrol officers. The big difference, of course, is that the characters never talk directly to the camera. Because of this, the viewers get the sense that they are watching behind-the-scenes footage that one would only get on documentaries, reality TV, or the news.

This is a smart move at the creators’ end because it makes On Call stand out from the rest. It has been a long time since a show about the police feels innovative and different. With the various POVs, it doesn’t feel as if the show is spreading copaganda.

On the contrary, it allows viewers to decide how they feel about the officers we see. They are shown in their true element, making mistakes, threatening people, saving lives, risking themselves, and being injured. Once again, making the audience feel as if this is a documentary.

A Very Similar Duo

Diaz and Harmon are a very special duo that works perfectly as the show’s lead. As they begin to trust each other, the audience starts to trust their characters. Just like they second-guess what they hear about one another, the viewers do, too, so we’re on the trust-earning journey together.

However, what they might not yet know, but viewers learn as the episodes go by, is that they are actually very similar. While Harmon deals with Delgado’s shadow, Diaz has the weight of trying to keep his brother safe. They both have something in the back of their mind pushing them to make rushed decisions and not listen to orders.

These similarities take a particular turn when it comes to their careers. While Harmon is being held back by her boss, she does the same thing to Diaz. Whether she does it because she truly believes he needs time to learn or as revenge for what is done to her, the audience probably won’t be able to tell until they can spend more time with Harmon.

The end of On Call Season 1 feels like it leaves us right where it started. It is a restart of everything that happened throughout the season. Every mistake can be changed because these characters are back at square one.

Or so it seems. The reality is that neither Harmon nor Diaz are the person they first were when they sat in her patrol car on the first episode. Nevertheless, they might feel like they are because none of them has advanced.

That feeling, combined with the literal representation of being back where they started, leaves viewers wanting more and hoping for a second season.

Different Kinds of Bosses

Most viewers of cop shows are used to bosses like Olivia Benson, Hank Voight, and Frank Reagan, among others. Bosses who are all in or nothing. However, On Call introduces different kinds of bosses who show the reality of the job.

Koyama, the beloved mentor, could probably be seen among the Bensons of the world. He is dedicated to his job, loyal to his trainee, and gives the right advice when Harmon needs it. However, his approach doesn’t take Harmon where she wants to be.

Sergeant Lasman is different from Koyama in the sense that he doesn’t hold Harmon’s hand and tells her what she wants to hear. On the contrary, he presents himself as a threat because he second-guesses what she does.

Lasman’s presence on the show pushes Diaz to walk a very thin line between the kind of cop he wants to be and who he can become. However, in the end, Lasman and Harmon want the same thing because, deep down, they are the same kind of people. He isn’t against her because he knows they are the same.

But then there is Lieutenant Bishop. Her presence on the show means absolutely nothing until the end, when Harmon realizes the truth. In a workplace where the two women should be united against injustices, Bishop is a backstab. However, that backstab makes her character interesting; otherwise, she would have been forgettable.

On Call has a strong first season. It proves to be a show that focuses more on who these cops are than on what they do, but it does so by showing exactly what they do (good and bad).

Its innovative approach to telling the story of patrol officers in California makes the show stand out from the rest. Hopefully, this will be enough to get the show over the threshold and onto its second season.

And if the innovative approach isn’t enough to make viewers enjoy the show, we can at least guarantee that Pretty Little Liars fans will appreciate the growth in alumnus Troian Bellisario as she delivers one of the best performances of her career.

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On Call is now streaming on Prime Video.

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