"K-Ville" (2007) TV series

Creator:

Jonathan Lisco

Seasons:

1

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Police officers patrol the streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Plot Keywords:

TV Series Pilot

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Anthony Anderson	...	Marlin Boulet (11 episodes, 2007-2008)
Cole Hauser	...	Trevor Cobb (11 episodes, 2007-2008)
Blake Shields	...	Jeff 'Glue Boy' Gooden (11 episodes, 2007-2008)
Tawny Cypress	...	Ginger 'Love Tap' LeBeau (11 episodes, 2007-2008)
John Carroll Lynch	...	Captain James Embry (11 episodes, 2007-2008)
Russell M. Haeuser	...	NOPD Officer (11 episodes, 2007-2008)
Michele Adams	...	S.W.A.T. / ... (8 episodes, 2007)
Elise Neal	...	Ayana Boulet (7 episodes, 2007)
Dr. Melissa Caudle	...	Detective Smitty (6 episodes, 2007-2008)
Geraldine Glenn	...	Church attendee / ... (5 episodes, 2007)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The title comes from some actual graffiti that was spray painted on a wall in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It said "Welcome to K-Ville".

Quotes:

Officer Robert Boulet: The way I see it, there are two kinds of cops: New Orleans PD, and everyone else.

Often, "K-Ville" simply uses it's setting as a backdrop to run several routine crime stories through

Network: Fox; Genre: Crime Drama; Content Rating: TV-14 (some fierce violence and adult content); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Seasons Reviewed: Series (1 season)

In the immediate aftermath of the 2006 Hurricane Katrina disaster, the city of New Orleans begins to rebuild. Marlin Boulet (Anthony Anderson) plays a cop who stayed behind rescuing citizens off roofs while his partner wigged out and fled the city. Boulet is assigned a new partner, Cobbs (Cole Houser), who has a secret of his own - he survived the storm by drowning his roommate, hoping the water wouldn't rise past the ceiling of his prison cell.

At it's best ("Ride Along", "Melissa", "AKA"), the show sticks up for the city's rich culture and heritage, making the case that "Nawlins" is widely misunderstood by the east and west coast dwelling pundits who proclaim it "a welfare state that is never coming back" (as a reporter voices in "Ride Along"). Anderson sells a love for the city, and Houser sells a respect for Boulet's love for the city. The title itself is a reference from inside New Orleans showcasing the city's subversive sense of humor.

At it's worst, many in the short series run, the show simply appears to use the current event climate of New Orleans as a backdrop gimmick to run several routine crime stories through. Mississippi, Alabama and Florida post-Katrina don't make nearly as interesting a setting, I suppose. Even when extolling the character of New Orleans we only get to see the city as 2nd unit stock footage passing by a car window or a narrow shot of the front of a house. This works against the show. I want to feel like I'm there. Right in the middle of it. Immersed in the middle of a war between reconstructionists like Boulet and thugs and drug dealers who take this opportunity to drag New Orleans back into the wild west.

There is a lot of potential here, that "K-Ville" doesn't realize. "Rescue Me" started as a post-9/11 look at firefighters in New York and while it always holds to that truth it has also fleshed itself out into a rich, humorous universe of it's own. "K-Ville", on Fox is handcuffed to a cop drama template. It's got a few splintery shoot-outs and a few dry humorous smirks but is largely humorless, thrill-free and uninspired in it's shallow, predictable stories. The characters have yet to flesh out although it appears "K-Ville" was really working at them. In Too bad because the show is pretty well made. There is an intensity to some of the action, a shaky camera technique and a willingness to blow things up and shoot-up and rip apart sets that gives the show a movie quality. "24" on a smaller budget.

You can become attached to any show you watch at length. I really wanted to like "K-Ville", mostly for the strong, likable lead performance from Anthony Anderson. Anderson came into his dramatic own with his startling turn on "The Shield" and this is further good work from an actor who could easily become great. Vic Mackey would be pleased with Boulet. But "K-Ville" as a whole doesn't rise up to it's potential and it's made up of elements that might seem different and freshly brutal for those only christened by network TV, but will come off a little been-there-done-that from those who have experienced FX's aforementioned cop thriller.

* * / 4