Last shift on the beat for TV’s 19-2
Realistic police drama begins final season on CTV on Monday
Back in 2012, Adrian Holmes and Jared Keeso went out to dinner while working on the Matt Damon, Jodie Foster sci-fi thriller Elysium.
It was the duo’s third time together on a film set and they joked about how great doing a cop series like Miami Vice or Bad Boys together would be.
Fast forward to Monday night, and their critically acclaimed drama 19-2 kicks off its final season on CTV (moving from former home Bravo) after three years of unprecedented and brutally realistic scenes involving Montreal beat cops and the daily situations they face on the job.
Tonally, the scripted series is nothing like those shows Holmes and Keeso were putting out there to the universe; instead, the documentary-style offering (developed from a French-Canadian format and first in consideration at public broadcaster CBC) is considered groundbreaking Canadian television that’s often cited by actual police officers and first responders as the most realistic depiction of what it’s like to tackle these jobs on a daily basis.
In fact, the Season 2 premiere, which featured a rolling-shot takedown of a school shooter and vividly depicted characters walking into that kind of a harrowing situation, is now used by some academies and militaries as a training tool.
“The show came with a really good relationship with Montreal cops, which we developed and strengthened and built,” showrunner Bruce Smith says. “One of the bottom lines to me was that this was a show that first responders had some respect for. Yes, it’s fiction; yes, it’s accelerated, but this is akin to what it’s like. Very few shows on television get that response from most officers I encounter. It’s something we’re always testing and asking, ‘Does this ring true to you?’ And if it doesn’t, we take that note very seriously.”
“I can only hope that our show has shed some light on the difficulties faced by police and all first responders,” Keeso adds. “We owe the Montreal police a great deal for giving us an all-access look into the profession. We aim to do well by them, first and foremost.”
In that vein, the series has never shied away from tough issues such as depression, suicide, police brutality and public image, themes that continue into the final season of this character study.
The opener picks up shortly after the third season finale where corruption, the death of a loved one and the job itself are starting to wear on partners Nick (Holmes) and Ben (Keeso). Then a monumental event sets two narratives in motion that should keep audiences on their toes for the subsequent seven instalments.
“A key to this show is when a big event happens, that’s not the peak of the drama. The drama is about how that affects you and how you have to live with it,” Smith says. “We never reset. You bring these things home with you, where some people fall into the bottle, for example, or deal with them really badly. Some people deal with them really well. That’s what Season 4 is about, how do you survive this kind of job?”
As the series winds down, there’s no question that Holmes and Keeso, who have both won leading actor Canadian Screen Awards for their respective roles, will continue to thrive in the industry.
Holmes has a couple of films in post-production and has been popping up in various guest-starring roles on the Canadian TV circuit, while Keeso’s CraveTV comedy Letterkenny is in production on its fourth season in Sudbury, Ont.
“People have come up to us and said, ‘You’ve revolutionized Canadian television and made it much more respected.’ ” Holmes says. “It’s a very simple yet truthful format that’s raw, real and edgy, but there aren’t a lot of bells and whistles or fancy special effects that can be distracting. We focus more on the characters and what they go through on a daily basis.
“19-2 definitely set the bar. There aren’t too many opportunities like that that come along, but there’s great content out there and, if we don’t create it ourselves, I’m optimistic that the universe will provide another vehicle like 19-2 for me again.” 19-2 returns July 31 at 10 p.m. on CTV. The first three seasons are available to stream at CraveTV.