It may be a wide net to cast, but the array of law enforcement and legal dramas leaves a lot to be desired. Though the multiple incarnations of such shows as CSI and NCIS manage to pull in heady numbers, and more and more investigative sci-fi concepts are being picked up, there are a sparse amount of truly compelling dramas built around the iconic “cops and robbers” formula. Homeland, however, immediately comes to mind for having breathed new life into the genre with its exemplary cast and thrilling story.
Fox appears to be at the top of the queue in picking up on the renewed interest in crime dramas following Homeland’s success, with three pilots ordered for later this year. One of those pilots is Josh Friedman’s The Asset, a spy thriller set around the New York chapter of the CIA. After several recent guest spots on The Mentalist and In Plain Sight, The West Wing alum and Emmy-winner, Bradley Whitford, has signed on to The Asset opposite Ali Larter, penned to play her CIA field operative’s station chief.
Familiar faces can only do so much to strengthen a show’s build up when it revolves around such a thoroughly explored realm of storytelling. Though I’m more partial to the Bonds and Bournes of the spy world, my television is in need of a new iconic infiltrator, and Fox might be ready to fill that order come next season.
I love Whitford -- he deserves a show that sticks around a while (post west wing of course). He was great on Studio 60 and imagine that he had a hell of a time doing his shtick on The Good Guys.