There are a number of TV producers who people might know by name. Dick Wolf does all the Law & Order (1990) shows and spin-offs. Ryan Murphy is the guy behind Glee (2009) and American Horror Story (2011). Shonda Rhimes has given us Grey's Anatomy (2005) and Bridgerton (2020). Taylor Sheridan has recently risen in his profile with Yellowstone (2018). In less than a decade, Sheridan has spawned about a dozen programs, most of them spin-offs of Yellowstone. Another producer to add to this list is Courtney A. Kemp who worked as a writer for several shows before creating her first, Starz's Power (2014). It was so successful that it spawned four spin-offs with two more in-development. This is Kemp's first series outside the Power universe.
Like Power, this show is a crime drama. Unlike Power, this show isn't about the drug game. It's essentially about bank robberies. Many have pointed out the comparison or inspiration to Michael Mann's Heat (1995), which was about bank robbers and the police chasing them. Many consider Heat to be a classic in thrillers. It has inspired several projects trying to copy it, not that Mann invented the concept of a story about cops-and-robbers, but there are iconic moments from Heat that get replicated here, such as a huge shootout between both sides crouched behind cars on the streets of Los Angeles. In fact, this series has two scenes like that.
Matthew Law (Abbott Elementary and The Oval) stars as Isaiah Stiles, a lieutenant in the LAPD. He's hunting thieves who have not just been robbing banks but a variety of wealthy targets like jewelry stores. Because the targets haven't been one consistent type, the LAPD doesn't think the thieves are the same people. However, Isaiah believes the string of hits are by the same group. He keeps trying to prove it and connect the dots, but everyone keeps doubting him. It doesn't matter that Isaiah turns out to be right. His pursuit of these thieves becomes an obsession, especially after the robberies result in people getting killed. Yet, Isaiah's pursuit affects his personal and professional life. He even gets to a point that he's willing to cross the line and even commit criminal acts in order to stop these thieves.
Y'lan Noel (Lady in the Lake and Insecure) co-stars as Coltrane Wilder, the leader of the thieves in question. He's a very smart mastermind in planning and executing the various heists depicted in this show. However, he has a very forward-facing identity of being a legitimate businessman, doing real estate development to better the Black community. He even donates to a lot of charities in order to solidify his clean public image. Even when Isaiah gets evidence that points to Coltrane, nobody wants to believe that Coltrane could be guilty. He might be smart, but he's similar to Isaiah in that he becomes obsessed too, obsessed to his detriment. When Isaiah starts to close in and take down members of Coltrane's crew, Coltrane wants revenge and his drive for vengeance causes troubles for him personally and professionally as well.
Often, in these Heat inspirations, the idea is that the cop and the robber are two sides of the same coin. The films and even this series to some degree try to paint a kind of equivalency. Nonetheless, this series has no compunction with depicting Coltrane as a killer and a stone-cold one. Isaiah is brought to the brink of wanting to be a killer and perhaps even attempting to do so, but, in the end, Isaiah can't pull the trigger himself, even if he might be justified in doing so. This is the case in the end when Isaiah and Coltrane inevitably face-off in a manner that is very contrived but the face-off results in Isaiah having to choose whether or not he's going to kill Coltrane. It comes down to whether or not he'll shoot or not. That particular standoff feels like a straw man where Isaiah has to make a choice that feels like him being between a rock and a hard place and that choice in reality isn't that. It deflated the series for me.
Leading up to that though, I did enjoy the soap opera aspects. Those aspects take the personal lives of both Isaiah and Coltrane and entangle them together into a messy mix. What you discover is that before Isaiah and Coltrane realize that they're enemies who start to go after each other in what rises to a deadly game, they are actually connected. It doesn't go full soap opera and make them half-brothers or cousins or something like that, but it's revealed that the two are related to some degree. It's silly, but it does give the women in their lives something to do and involves them in a way than just being the frustrated or put-upon wives.
Gabrielle Dennis (A Black Lady Sketch Show and The Game) also co-stars as Candice Stiles, the wife to Isaiah, mother to his son, and a therapist. She's the one who points out that Isaiah is becoming obsessed and as such, it's interfering with his marriage and his relationship with their son, Noah, played by Cedric Joe (Women of the Movement and Space Jam: A New Legacy). That interference includes the fact that Isaiah doesn't want Noah to meet Isaiah's father, Amos, played by Moe Irvin (Snowfall and Grey's Anatomy). Amos is a former prison inmate. Amos was part of a gang and did all kinds of street crimes. He got out of prison, but Isaiah doesn't want Amos influencing Noah because Isaiah doesn't want Noah getting involved in street crimes too. Candice thinks Isaiah should let go of his anger for his father, as well as navigate the fact that Noah wants to know Amos. It's probably the most interesting aspect of the various family dynamics.
Cleopatra Coleman (Clipped and Dopesick) also co-stars as Ebony Wilder, the wife to Coltrane and his partner in crime, or at least she was. She pushes Coltrane to get out of the robbery business, even though Ebony's sister, Charlie, played by Sophina Brown (Numb3rs and Shark), is the person who arranges and assigns Coltrane to do the various heists. Ebony isn't as gangster as her sister. She's not as cold-blooded. She's more compassionate. She knows how difficult it is for Black people to rise up the ladder or rise in social status. She's happy to take advantage or rob wealthy people to get ahead, but she recognizes the danger and doesn't want Coltrane doing it any more. She tries to distance herself from it and pull Coltrane out of it, but instead Coltrane and Charlie pull her back, if anything.
The rest of the supporting cast who are Isaiah's crew and Coltrane's crew are all great. The two actors from that supporting cast that standout the most, or the two that get a moment to shine in terms of story and performance are Tre Hale (Platonic and All American) who plays Darren, a member of Coltrane's crew, and Quincy Isaiah (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) who plays Deon, the uncle to Darren, even though he's younger than Darren. Darren calls Deon "baby uncle." In episode 4, they go to the house of their "big mama," likely their mutual grandmother in order to celebrate her birthday and Christmas. That episode focuses on the relationship between the two and ends in a very powerful and poignant way that was pretty stunning, as both actors nail their roles.
Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 1 hr. / 8 eps.
Available on Netflix.
