‘Taxi’ fares well
Cop show can hack it as summer fun
DON’T USE “Taxi Brooklyn” as a model for police procedure. But as escapist summer TV entertainm ment, it’s right o on point.
It also uses N New York b beautifully. Scenes in Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn pop off the screen.
The show combines a couple of cop-show notions we’ve seen before: the odd-couple lead pairing, the obsessed female detective, a long-term quest that arcs over the cases of the week.
The details, though, are unique enough that in the hands of good actors they feel fresh.
Chyler Leigh plays Detective Caitlyn (Cat) Sullivan, whose detective father was murdered in the line of duty. She’s determined to learn who did it, not realizing the answer opens a Pandora’s box.
Jacky Ido plays her unlikely compadre, Leo Romba.
Leo isn’t a cop. He’s a taxi driver who was imprisoned overseas under mysterious circumstances. Partly by a leap of viewer faith and partly because the department doesn’t trust Cat’s driving, they become a team.
It works. He’s droll with street smarts, while never completely shedding his air of mystery.
“Taxi Brooklyn” is an import, a low-cost summer rental, but it has much of the lean, clean charm h of, f say, USA programs.
As a final bonus, it brings back Jennifer Esposito as Cat’s friend Dr. Monica Pena. After her unfortunate exit from “Blue Bloods,” it’s good to see her back.
dhinckley@nydailynews.com