New show: 'K-Ville' shows nothing's easy in the Big Easy
Posted: Monday, July 23, 2007 10:03 PM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
Filed Under:
TV
"K-Ville" is a cop drama with a twist. You've heard those words before, but this twist is that it's set in a post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, where cops and citizens alike face all the troubles and trauma of rebuilding that city. And for some, the question is whether they should stay and rebuild, or whether it's time to cut their losses and leave that beautiful, historic city, deciding that it will never be the same again.
Anthony Anderson, who plays the chilling Antwon Mitchell in "The Shield," is a good guy here. He plays Marlin Boulet, a New Orleans cop who saw his city through the devastating storm and thinks by working hard and devoting himself to his people, he can bring it back. His neighborhood is the troubled Ninth Ward, he's sweet on N'Awlins gumbo and live jazz, and is pretty much as entwined with a city as one can be.
During the storm, however, his partner freaked out and bailed on him, and his new post-Katrina partner, Trevor Cobb (Cole Hauser) has a only-made-possible-by-Katrina secret. Those are good characters, and the storm itself is ripe material for a million different plots, plots that make those of us who don't live in New Orleans stop and think, and help us not forget the city. That's why it was disappointing when the pilot episode turned into pretty much a regular, action-filled cop show. The show is shot on location in New Orleans, bringing jobs and some hope back to the city. It would be nice to see it succeed for many reasons. Dave Walker, TV critic for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, has a nice long feature about the show here. Near the end of his article, he quotes a New Orleans resident who asked the crew about the show, and then said "I hope you don't screw it up, because that could be good." No pressure, guys. No pressure.
PANEL TIDBITS:
--Anderson said the cast hopes to be living and working in New Orleans for many years, and that many have signed up to work with Habitat for Humanity on their off days, helping to rebuild the city.
--Producer Jonathan Lisco dropped one hint to an intriguing future episode. Seems that Boulet saved a man during Katrina "by plucking him off a roof." Now, two years later, he discovers the man is a murderer, and had he let him drown, he might have saved many other lives.
GAEL'S GRADE: I want to like "K-Ville" for New Orleans' sake, but the pilot rates only a B minus.
