Why On Call is a Law Enforcement Show ‘Without the Commentary’

Dick Wolf‘s On Call follows fictional law enforcement working for the Long Beach Police Department – but why did the procedural make an effort not to offer commentary?

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Troian Bellisario, Brandon Larracuente, Eriq LaSalle a Lori Loughlin discuss how their new show is doing deliver important conversations without choosing sides.

“At least from my own experience, the show left me with more questions than real answers. I hope that’s what audiences experience as well,” noted Larracuente, 30, who plays Officer Alex Diaz. “At the end of the day, we’re not really trying to paint any narrative.”

Larracuente approved On Call about “just trying to show the human side” to everyone, adding, “Hopefully audience members can relate to one of the characters (on the show) in some way, shape or form.”

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Meanwhile, Bellisario, 39, agreed he didn’t want to “to get an individual message.”

“We want so many different types of people – who have many different views about the police – to come to this show. And we want them to take what they take away,” said the actress, who plays Officer Traci Harmon Us. (“Executive producer) Elliot (wolf) put it very well. It’s like, ‘We want to create a buffet and we want everyone to come to the table and eat together.’ That’s the thing. We’re not going to say, ‘Oh, you have that idea, so you’re not welcome here.’ You have that idea so you won’t like this show.’ You will see people making incredible decisions (on screen). You will see us make mistakes. Nobody is a hero. And these are human beings – they happen to be doing this job. “

On Call, which premiered Thursday, January 9, is Wolf Entertainment’s first scripted streaming series. The gritty play used body camera, dashboard camera and mobile phone footage to follow cops in the field.

Speaking to UsLoughlin, 60, shows support for On Call“intention” when “not trying to make a comment” in any way. His costar Eric La Salle found that to be an appealing part the show when joining as leader and director.

“We’re just trying to present real believable characters. We all spent a shift – or at least a shift at least – riding along with a poll, answering calls and observing, which was extremely useful. For me as a director, to be able to be in that cruise and be a fly on the wall is the goal for me with the audience,” explained the actor, 62, who plays Sergeant Lasman. “We’re trying to bring the audience in and make them feel like they’re in that car with us and they’re on these calls with us. Everyone was in sync with what we were trying to do.”

La Salle called the “main goal” bringing in the audience “without the commentary.”

“We’re not saying (anything), we’re just presenting. How you interpret these characters is up to you. You might like some characters, you might not like some characters,” he continued. “You might agree with some characters (and) you might not. But it’s our job – and I’m n think I’m proud of the work we’ve done – is to present what we see as the truth and what we see as the multi-dimensionality of these characters .”

On Callmission to stand out include customization to the times.

“Our audiences are evolving. The police procedural is nothing new and is definitely a Wolf Entertainment production. It’s a classic and everyone loves it,” noted Bellisario. “Younger audiences generally stream. They watch less procedural and more character driven shows. We’re going to use the world of law enforcement but we’re going to show it to you in a place you don’t really see much, which is Long Beach. It’s a whole new community and landscape.”

He concluded: “We’re not going to show you a case and then solve it by the end of it. There is an overarching storyline to this season that our characters follow. but really it’s about the time spent between us and this relationship and how it builds and how it falls and the betrayal and the beliefs. It’s a really amazing amalgamation of all these new ideas which, in my opinion, presents a completely original idea in the show.”

On Call is currently streaming on Prime Video.