Memphis Beat Hits the Right Note
In recent years Hollywood has been quick to praise a succession of dramas with protagonists on the wrong side of the law. On Showtime alone, Dexter is about a serial killer and Weeds celebrates a suburban pot dealer who branches out into smuggling. The title character in Nurse Jackie is a “functioning” junkie, and two other Showtime series are set in the porn business.
In an era of openly “transgressive” anti-heroes, doesn’t anyone in Hollywood realize that a majority of viewers still prefers traditional law enforcement stories where good cops put away bad criminals? Yes, thankfully. Michael Wright, head of programming at TNT, knows drama well enough to ensure that the audience has its empathy respected and its values affirmed. So it has been with the network’s top hit, The Closer, and so it will be with a new series, Memphis Beat, which premieres Tuesday evening.
Wright says that TNT develops “populist” dramas with an “everyman spirit.” Memphis Beat is just that, and Jason Lee (My Name is Earl) as Detective Dwight Hendricks is a heartland character who should have broad appeal. Hendricks is second generation law enforcement and relentless in the pursuit of justice. He lovingly watches out for his mother and cares deeply for the city he protects. He lets off steam by singing in a blues club, but can be a perfect Southern gentleman when the situation requires it. That includes explaining his loose methods to a tough new boss played by the always formidable four-time Emmy winner (and fifteen-time(!) nominee) Alfre Woodard.
The pilot story is elegantly simple and compelling, a case of elder abuse against a beloved but forsaken local radio legend. Along the way there is a homicide and a surprise twist, but Memphis Beat spares us the forensics, the ballistics, and the confusing complications which have come to overcome the stories in so many contemporary procedurals. Co-creators Liz W. Garcia and Joshua Harto stick to basics: witness interviews, exceptionally strong defense of the victim, and a hero willing to follow his instincts even at the expense of his own career.
The best police dramas not only exalt the crucial role of those who protect and defend, they also explore deeper human questions about the human condition. Recently this quest for deeper meaning has too often fixated on the psychopathology of serial offenders and the grisly horrors they inflict. Not so in Memphis Beat. The smart, economical final interrogation scene says more by saying just enough about the criminal’s motivation. The theme being weighed, motherhood, is explored through the prism of crime but also via other more positive refractions. It’s courageous of the writers to take on such a true-blue theme in the pilot, and I hope they will continue to explore future themes with equally powerful contrasts of both wrongful and righteous behavior.
Memphis Beat comes from the production shop run by actors George Clooney and Grant Heslov. Co-creator Joshua Harto is also an actor, and the pilot was directed by actor Clark Johnson (formerly of The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street.) TNT’s Wright is himself a former thespian. This high concentration of stage talent behind the scenes is likely to result in a character-driven drama, a welcome respite from the many series driven by their digital effects.
Backing up Lee and Woodard is a fine supporting cast, including DJ Qualls as Davey Sutton, a quirky, earnest, but clumsy fellow who adds welcome lighter moments. Strong support is also offered by Memphis itself. Memphis Beat is suffused with the city’s music. The slower Southern pacing of the dialogue and storytelling will differentiate this program from typical TV police dramas. Touches of authentic regional flavor will be crucial to the show’s chance for success. What the audience doesn’t want is yet another mournful tale of woe about a city overwhelmed by one of the nation’s highest crime rates.
Thanks. I might have missed Memphis Beat; now I’ll record it, just in case.
TNT has become a real competitor to the networks! To our benefit, definitely.
If that’s the audience’s preference, it doesn’t seem to be a strong preference. Some crime dramas have as their heroes enforcers who think little of bending the law — or breaking it — in pursuit of a “higher goal.” (e.g. Justified, Law and Order: SVU, and Dark Blue) Some involve “going private.” (e.g. Burn Notice, Leverage, and Human Target) Others enlist former criminals (e.g. White Collar) and still others portray the “forces of law” as being morally beneath those they supposedly oppose (e.g. Sons of Anarchy). All those shows are above-average popular.
I wouldn’t doubt that the audience wants to see the good guy win, but who the good guy is — whether he’s a peace officer or a nominal outlaw — matters a lot less in the usual case. Which is a strikingly good match to conditions in the real world, if you’ve been following developments in the War on Drugs, or in the state of Maryland.
The most watched crime dramas on broadcast television (NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, The Mentalist) and cable (The Closer) still celebrate heroes on the right side of the law. While you may see plots or beats where good guys stretch the law (or go further as in the classic “Did You See the Sunrise?” episode of Magnum PI), it has been true throughout TV history that law-abiding heroes defeating lawless criminals has been the most popular forumulation.
I think the reference to the War on Drugs and your use of the term “nominal outlaw” gets closer to your underlying complaint with my article. In my opinion, series programs which regularly glorify or encourage the manufacture, distribution, dealing, and recreational use of illegal drugs don’t pass the moral test which should be applied by all media companies before a program is disseminated to a wide audience.
In the old days of the NAB Code, this wouldn’t even be questioned. Today, with some cable networks enforcing few if any standards and practices on content, these shows find audiences. An audience ready to be titillated by subversive content should not be reason enough to put it on the air, just as the existence of an audience for a “High Times” magazine should not be enough reason for it to be displayed openly in stores by distributors and retailers. Self-discipline was long one of the great strengths sustaining free market capitalism. When business losses self-discipline — e.g. when bond rating agencies become soft graders — we all lose. So do the media businesses themselves. For years the music industry sold transgressive song lyrics to a generation which consequently took on a favorite transgression: stealing music digitally!
In my opinion, it’s not enough for citizens to simply go to the polls and vote down initiatives to weaken drug laws (beyond the compassionate treatment for gravely ill people which some have used as a wedge to open the door to broader legalization.) Businesses, including media businesses, should also rally to defend our standards of decency and decorous behavior. The GE which put Ronald Reagan on the road to give speeches supporting capitalism was a lot more effective than the GE which puts MSNBC out there to attack it. A society which demonstrates the collective will to uphold its core values is the society which will survive. Certainly recreational use of illegal drugs should not be encouraged by media companies. After all, why encourage one more competing way for people to waste their time?
Though I agree that there is an appetite for shows like Memphis Beat (I will watch), I still enjoy Dexter and IMO is one of the best shows on TV.
” Series programs which regularly glorify or encourage the manufacture, distribution, dealing, and recreational use of illegal drugs don’t pass the moral test which should be applied by all media companies before a program is disseminated to a wide audience”
It would be better to just tell the truth; Police forces have been caught distributing drugs, The British Empire was one of the largest distributors of Heroin in history, the US govt was actively involved in distribution of drugs, and on and on.
Why people are so terrified of telling History as it really was, and the truth as it really is, is beyond me.
Iran Contra, British Opium Wars, CIA protecting drug smugglers, prison guards organizing drug rings in prisons, this is the reality of the world. Tell it like it is.
Please pardon me, Jim, as I initially bypassed your review. However, when BackwardsGirl informed me that the protagonist was a blues musician on the side, I perked up and watched, since that’s also my hobby.
My previous guilty pleasure has been “Bones”, which my cable provider lists as a show about health, which always gives me a chuckle. It’s a black comedy that relies on digital effects, as you mention.
My first impression was that the plot was rather low-key. The hero’s speech about the role that the victim likely played in the parents’ courtship and subsequent production of the other officers was an unexpected delight. And yes, it was a refreshing return to more classic literary ideals of heros as loving, strong, masculine protectors. And the race-neutral aspect of the realtionships is more in line with the modern South than some might think.
The previews for the next episode showed one of my favorite actresses, Juliette Lewis. I may just become a fan of this show.
I found Memphis Beat at episode 7. I am heart-broken that it has not been renewed. Being a Southerner, I found the atmosphere absolutely genuine. The accents, the music, the characters all produced the same chemistry that we loved with WKRP so long ago. The history, politics, economy, architecture, and climate are all such great cast members. I have not found a series that I enjoyed as much in many, many years.