Shades of Blue on NBC is another anticipated TV series with a leading Latina lady. Not only does it star Jennifer Lopez but she also is a producer. Lopez has produced other television series but this is the first time she has starred in a series and also produced it. She plays Harlee Santos who is a detective and a single mom who has been on the force for 14 years and has become a family with the people she works with but these cops push the limits of what they do.
In a recent interview, Lopez shared that in the series pilot, Harlee is picked up by the FBI and they are forcing her into a corner to rat out her crew. And the drama begins …
Something that I’m looking forward to is another developed, complex Latina lead on prime time TV. Harley Santos is not one-dimensional and apparently she gets herself into some trouble. I like the idea of not everyone or every thing being what you think it may be on the surface.
“Harlee is complex but really simple at the same time. She knows what’s most important. And what’s most important is her daughter. That makes her life really, really focused and all her choices really, really focused. That doesn’t mean it’s not complicated. It is. It’s super complicated for her. I think, one of the interesting thing about playing this character is how on edge she is constantly and how at the brink of – she could be – falling apart at any moment. You just don’t know when it’s going to happen because she’s under tremendous pressure. It’s like she’s on a tight rope. Balancing between dealing with the FBI and make-believing she’s not lying to everybody in her life. It’s her lies and her trying to keep herself afloat – her serving – is compelling to watch and to play. Every scene if full of stakes for her. The stakes are so high,” Lopez described Harlee in a recent interview about the series premiere. (NBC Universal)
Along with Jennifer Lopez, it stars Emmy Winners Ray Liotta and Drea de Matteo. Warren Kole, Dayo Okeniyi, Hampton Fluker, Vincent Laresca and Sarah Jeffery round out the cast.
JLo goes toe-to-toe with Ray Liotta in Shades of Blue whom I will forever love because of Goodfellas. I can watch that movie any time, any where. However, in Shades of Blue, Liotta plays Matt Wozniak, a lieutenant who is also very complicated. He is very protective of his special unit. They’ve all done some bad things and he’s working to ensure they don’t get caught. But, of course, this is a TV drama and it’s never so simple.
Shades of Blue premiers on NBC on Thursday, January 7, 2016 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. CST. I haven’t watched a Thursday night TV series on a regular basis since Parenthood went off the air last year. Will Shades of Blue get me back on my couch on Thursday nights? I’m going to find out. WATCH the trailer below.
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