I’ve started watching Deputy, a new crime series on Fox.
Deputy is a genre blend—of the old-style Western, and the gritty, modern police procedural.
The premise is this: a fifth-generation, old-school lawman named Bill Hollister (Stephen Dorf) suddenly becomes the acting sheriff of Los Angeles County. He must contend with ICE raids, human traffickers and drug gangs, as well as media who are hostile to the police.
Oh, and his personal security deputy is a Millennial, non-binary lesbian (Bex Taylor-Klaus).
The show opens on a controversial note, as Hollister (hours before he’s named sheriff) is called on the carpet for interfering with an ICE raid. Hollister believes that if LA County deputies cooperate with ICE, they won’t be able to maintain the trust of the large immigrant community in the area.
I don’t agree with every point that the creators of Deputy are trying to make, but I admire the way in which they’re going about it. This show throws a lot of stuff at the wall—a lot of issues, and a lot of action and conflict. Most of it works.
This is a show that makes a serious attempt to address the ambiguities and culture wars of the twenty-first century. The arguments made herein won’t completely please anyone. While Hollister is clearly opposed to ICE roundups of illegal immigrants, he channels Dirty Harry when going after bad guys—of all races and ethnicities.
Bill Hollister will delight the most diehard Clint Eastwood fans. Progressive viewers, meanwhile, finally get a show that champions at least some of their priorities, that isn’t a total borefest.
So far: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
