“Going against the family,” in gangster parlance, takes on a twist in FOX’s new police drama series Gang Related, premiering Thursday, May 22, at 9pm ET/PT.
Ryan Lopez (Ramon Rodriguez, The Wire) is a rising star in the LAPD’s elite Gang Task Force, earning the trust and respect of the unit’s captain, Sam Chapel (Terry O’Quinn, Lost). At the same time, Ryan owes allegiance to crime boss Javier Acosta (Cliff Curtis), who helped him in his troubled youth. Javier has been pulling Ryan’s strings ever since.
Ryan works both sides of the law, giving information about police operations and rival gangs to Javier, while using his insider knowledge of gang activity to maintain golden boy status on the Task Force.
Borrowing heavily from cop-show and gangster-movie clichés — and too often, racial stereotypes — Gang Related has more conflicted allegiances and deceit than a soap opera. Serving two masters, Ryan eventually will have to decide where his loyalties lie. Seeing which side Ryan lands on in his journey along the line between good and evil might make for intriguing summer viewing.
Photo: © 2014 Fox Broadcasting Co. Credit: Justin Stephens/FOX