J. Lo Tackles TV in “Shades of Blue” for NBC

Jennifer Lopez is coming to our TV screens this January. But instead of judging warbling singing contestants, she’ll be playing a NYPD cop that straddles the line between good and bad. And from the look of the initial trailer, this could be some truly compelling TV.

On the forthcoming Shades of Blue, Lopez plays Harlee Santos, a single mother and NYPD officer with questionable morals. Within her police family, they show no qualms with doing dirty deeds (taking bribes, staging crime scenes, etc.) while professing to be serving the greater good. They are fiercely loyal to a fault. But when she is entrapped by the FBI, Santos is pushed to be a mole amongst her corrupt colleagues, and she’ll be forced to play a very dangerous game.

Ray Liotta plays Matt Wozniak, the apparent figurehead of the group of dirty cops, and he is strikingly powerful as a man who puts loyalty above everything. He could just as easily be a mob boss from his scenes in the trailer. And Lopez brings a healthy dose of gritty goodness here, seamlessly flipping between dirty deeds and clear concern for her daughter.

The tension of allegiance to her child and her police family is an interesting one to play on, especially in a cultural climate where many claim there is a “War on the Police” and news reports of corrupt cops are becoming commonplace. I’m sure Twitter will have a lot to say once this series hits air.

Shades of Blue premieres January 7 on NBC. Stream the trailer below:

From NBC:

In a steamy new drama, the iconic Jennifer Lopez stars as sexy New York detective (and single mother) Harlee Santos, who fell in with a tight-knit group of dirty cops, taking bribes and protection money that she uses to provide the best life for her honest and talented daughter. When she’s trapped by the FBI, however, and forced to inform on her own “brothers,” she’ll have to walk the fine line between love, loyalty, honor and betrayal, and try to keep it together for her daughter’s future.

The cast also includes Ray Liotta, Warren Kole, Dayo Okeniyi, Drea de Matteo, Hampton Fluker, Vincent Laresca and Sarah Jeffery.

Jack Orman and Adi Hasak serve as writers and executive producers. Jennifer Lopez, Barry Levinson (Pilot), Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina, Ryan Seacrest and Nina Wass also executive produce. “Shades of Blue” is produced by Universal Television, Nuyorican Productions, EGTV and Ryan Seacrest Productions.

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Daren W. Jackson

Co-Founder/Editor

Daren is one half of the Water Cooler Convos team. He's a writer, music connoisseur, and comic book geek who spends his free time working on his novel and other short stories.

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