TV-14 | 8 episodes | Drama | 2025
It takes extensive training to become a cop, but anyone can second-guess their split-second decisions from the safety of online media. Probationary Officer Alex Diaz (Brandon Larracuente) successfully completed all his police academy work.
However, his real education begins when he starts patrolling with his trainer, Officer Traci Harmon (Troian Bellisario). She is a tough teacher, but even Harmon would admit the next 60 days are unusually challenging. Civil war erupts within one of Long Beach’s biggest gangs in co-creators Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf’s eight-episode “On Call,” executive-produced by “Law & Order” franchise creator Dick Wolf.
If you think policing is easy work, the first episode will quickly dispel that false assumption. It is only Diaz’s first day, but he is immediately swept up in a department-wide manhunt; members of the East Barrio gang are wanted for a high-profile, violent crime. Nevertheless, Officers Harmon and Diaz must still respond to a constant stream of 911 calls, any one of which might suddenly turn deadly.
A Tough Job
Initially, Diaz feels he can never do right by his training officer. First, he is too rash, chasing an East Barrio suspect without proper backup. Then he is too cautious, holding back when they have more than adequate probable cause to enter a likely crime scene. However, he fully understands the ruthless nature of East Barrio; Diaz grew up in a San Pedro neighborhood where the gang maintains a considerable presence.We soon learn Diaz’s decision to join the force didn’t thrill his mother (Michelle C. Bonilla). Frankly, both the trainee and the trainer have complicated family baggage that sometimes intrudes into their policing duties.
Not surprisingly, inter-departmental politics often further complicates matters. Harmon suspects Sgt. Lasman (Eriq La Salle, who also directed four episodes) would take advantage of any misstep she might make. She thinks Lasman wants to punish her for reluctantly cooperating with an internal affairs investigation that ended a fellow officer’s career.
Harmon also too often publicly criticizes the tactical decisions made by Lt. Bishop (Lori Loughlin). She fears Bishop will exacerbate rather than de-escalate the brewing war between East Barrio factions, indirectly ignited by the crimes of the first episode. Nevertheless, Harmon hopes to transfer into the hotshot narcotics squad, with their approval, led by her former training officer, Sgt. Tyson Koyama (Rich Ting).
Police Procedural
Essentially, “On Call” is a solid police procedural, not unlike the various “Law & Order” series overseen by Dick Wolf (father of the co-creator Elliot). It offers an evenhanded look at the dangers of police work and the toll it takes on officers. However, the shorter running time (25 to 30 minutes) of episodes that almost entirely consist of on-patrol responses makes “On Call” tighter, tenser, and more bingeable. There is also a heavy reliance on cops’ bodycam footage. But La Salle and Brenna Malloy (who directed the other four installments) stage the action in ways that are easy to follow and never disorienting in a “shaky-cam” way.Bellisario (the daughter of Donald P. Bellisario, creator of the original “Magnum P.I.” and “Quantum Leap”) and Larracuente are terrific verbally sparring as the trainer and trainee. They develop a completely believable relationship that never constitutes friendship (at least not yet), but shows how they grow to respect each other.
In a key supporting role, La Salle is definitely one of the series’s most valuable players. He brings gritty toughness to the role of Lasman, as well as a steady hand on the other side of the camera. Loughlin also nicely plays against her family sitcom image portraying the calculating Lt. Bishop. On the other side of the law, Lobo Sebastian is quietly but viscerally sinister as Smokey, a senior East Barrio gang leader.
Watching “On Call” might help some viewers understand the challenges of police work. Every day, complete perfection is demanded of cops. Yet, as Harmon’s training demonstrates, they also demand it of themselves. In contrast, how many civilians can claim they performed their work tasks absolutely perfectly—under vastly safer conditions? It is a difficult job, but society needs good people to do it.
Of course, some of the two lead characters’ personal histories and resentments make their jobs even harder—that is where much of the drama comes in. That drama is sometimes contrived (and never truly groundbreaking), but always highly watchable.
Easily recommended for fans of police shows.
