Brooklyn South 

A realistic and gritty police drama centering on the lives of a group of close knit police officers and crime victims at a seedy police station in Brooklyn, New York City.

Creators:

Steven Bochco, Bill Clark, William M. Finkelstein

Stars:

Jon Tenney, Michael DeLuise, Gary Basaraba

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Jon Tenney	...	Patrol Sgt. Francis X. Donovan 22 episodes, 1997-1998
Michael DeLuise	...	Off. Phil Roussakoff 22 episodes, 1997-1998
Gary Basaraba	...	Sgt. Richard Santoro / ... 22 episodes, 1997-1998
Titus Welliver	...	Off. Jake Lowery 22 episodes, 1997-1998
Klea Scott	...	Off. Nona Valentine 22 episodes, 1997-1998
Dylan Walsh	...	Off. Jimmy Doyle 22 episodes, 1997-1998
Yancy Butler	...	Off. Anne-Marie Kersey / ... 21 episodes, 1997-1998
James Sikking	...	Capt. Stan Jonas / ... 20 episodes, 1997-1998
Richard T. Jones	...	Off. Clement Johnson 20 episodes, 1997-1998
Adam Rodriguez	...	Off. Hector Villanueva 20 episodes, 1997-1998
Patrick McGaw	...	Terry Doyle 16 episodes, 1997-1998
A.J. Langer	...	Kathleen Doyle 9 episodes, 1997-1998

Storyline

"Brooklyn South" is the latest police show from executive producer/creator Steven Bochco, who also brought us "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue" and other shows. Here, we follow the officers and victims within one of the precincts in Brooklyn, New York.

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Plot Keywords:

police | brooklyn new york city | irish american | new york | murder | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Esquadra de Brooklyn

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Steven Bochco Productions, CBS Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (22 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lots of exterior shots were done in Park Slope Brooklyn.

User Reviews

Good for its time, but you'd be better off with The Wire.

Brooklyn South was an innovative and Gritty show when it hit the air. Focusing on street cops in uniform over detectives, and making a thorough commitment to realism, it was unlike most anything else on TV. The writing and acting was top notch, and the show is able to serve up verbal confrontations just as vicious as the physical ones.

Still, it hasn't aged well. Given the time period and the fact that it aired on CBS, Brooklyn South is relatively tame by today's standards. This isn't necessarily bad, such as in most classic Victorian literature, where the author invents a way to refer to sex and violence much more entertaining than a straight description. The problem is that Brooklyn South presents itself as gritty and revealing, (which it was for the time) and the actual content of the show ends up being a let down, rather than a delicious metaphor. Many of the issues that Brooklyn South is obviously trying to tackle, such as abuse of power, the slippery slope of committing evil deeds in the name of good, and what constitutes morality when your paid to use violence, it can only hint at. Thus the watcher is slowly drawn into these issues, only to be let down when the show switches subjects just before truly exposing them.

Given this I'd recommend Brooklyn South to hardcore fans of the crime genre, because even after aging it's still entertaining, and for it's historical importance as one of the first cop shows to focus on realism and morally ambiguous characters. Beyond that it's safe to say that HBO's The Wire is everything Brooklyn South wanted to be, and better done to boot.