When the Dylan McDermott TV series Dark Blue premiered on TNT last year it became my least favorite show of the network's offerings. The Closer, Hawthorne, Leverage; they all were better and more entertaining. Dark Bluewas too dark in its story of undercover cops. It also seemed to waste the talent and charisma of McDermott. Plus the supporting cast seemed to be struggling to find the heart and soul of their characters. In short nothing worked.
What a difference a year makes. The show is coming back and it is coming back like gangbusters. The actual look of the show seems brighter; the supporting cast seems more assured; best of all McDermott has found his mojo. He now exudes sex appeal and all it took was a little helper named Helfer. Yes Tricia Helfer has joined the cast and she is the missing ingredient. Around her, McDermott's character, Carter Shaw, has blossomed.
Helfer plays FBI Agent Alex Rice and she is the kick the series has needed. She arrives on the scene as a take hold kind of girl and Shaw's heart raises the white flag. There is steam surrounding these two whenever they are in the same scene.
There is improvement also in Omari Hardwick who plays Ty Curtis. Curtis is part of the undercover team but he also has a wife who lives in the "civilian world." The fear that his undercover world will overlap into the civilian world is always on his mind. He also worries that the excessive amount of time he spends on the job will damage his relationship with his wife.
Jaimie Allen, who is played by Nicki Aycox, is another member of the team. So far she is the one we know the least about. She seems to have some sort of feeling for her co-worker Dean (Logan Marshall-Green) but it is a vague relationship. Or perhaps it is that she cares more for Dean than he cares for her.
Aside from McDermott, Marshall-Green is the star of the show. He is the brooding loner who is able to get into undercover situations the others can't. In the second episode of the new season he gets involved with a drug dealers daughter. Her name is Maria (Jordana Brewster) and she and Dean hit it off. This is another couple who has great chemistry and it is hoped we will see more of Brewster in the future.
Dark Blueis executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It has all the traits of one of his productions - car chases, action sequences, dangerous situations. If we find out it was him who decided to hire Helfer then we will know he is a true genius. Whoever made that decision in my mind saved the show. Dark Bluehas gone from an "I don't want to watch it" show to an "I must see it" show. That's real progress!
Dark Blue premieres back to back episodes on TNT, Wednesday, August 4 at 9PM.