Understatement doesn’t figure in CBS’ ‘Training Day’
The show premieres Thursday, Feb. 2, and is a legitimate ratings contender against ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder.”
The series takes place 15 years after the events of the 2001 Fuqua-directed feature film starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke.
Kyle Craig (Justin Cornwell), squeaky clean, principled and a bona fide hero, is enlisted by Deputy Chief Joy Lockhart (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) to team with Detective Frank Rourke (Bill Paxton), a rule-breaking, streetwise cop.
[...] some of Craig’s predecessors haven’t made it through a full day before they request a transfer.
The combination of solid plotting, decent dialogue, breathless editing and solid performances makes the series work, although we more or less forget about the fact that Craig is supposed to be spying on his partner because it’s obvious he’d wind up on Rourke’s side even if they didn’t share the determination to figure out who killed Craig’s old man.
Julie Benz also makes an unforgettable impression as Holly Butler, Rourke’s girlfriend, who makes a decent living running a stable of high-priced call girls.
David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle and co-host of “The Do List” every Friday morning at 6:22 and 8:22 on KQED FM, 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento.