The first season of On call had We on the edge of our seats – but where does Wolf Entertainment’s police procedural go from here?
On callwhich premiered on Thursday, January 9, focused on veteran training officer Traci Harmon (Troian Bellisario) and his rookie partner Alex Diaz (Brandon Larracuente) while responding to emergency calls on the streets of Long Beach, California. Their partnership followed a major loss for Harmon and it took an entire season for her and Diaz to start trusting each other.
The Prime Video series found a way to restart the dynamic when Harmon ultimately didn’t recommend Diaz moving forward. Instead, she got him to go back to recruit training – with her. Viewers also learned more about Sergeant Lasman (Eric LaSalle) and Lieutenant Bishop (Lori Loughlin) after first wondering if they were friends or enemies.
“We want so many different types of people – who have very different opinions about the police – to come on this show. And we want them to take away what they take away,” Bellisario said exclusively. Us every week. (“Executive Producer) Elliot (Wolf) say it very well. He says: “We want to create a buffet and we want everyone to come to the table and eat together. » That’s the problem. We’re not going to say, “Oh, you have this idea, so you’re not welcome here.” » You have this 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 they are human beings – they happen to do this work.
Larracuente, meanwhile, was just as intrigued by the show’s future as fans will be.
“At least, in my own experience, the series left me with more questions than real answers. I hope that’s what the audience experiences as well,” he noted. “In the end, we’re not really trying to tell a narrative. …I hope audience members can relate to one of the characters (from the show) in some way.
The cast and the creator Tim Walsh answered some burning questions about Season 1 – and where the story would go from here:
Where do Harmon and Diaz go from here?
In the season 1 finale, Harmon recommended that Diaz be placed on probation, which brought them together as partners. This decision shook up their dynamic, but it’s a step in the right direction in the long run.
“Harmon made this choice because, above all, she doesn’t want to lose him. She’s starting to feel – there’s nothing romantic between them – but she’s like a mama bear and here’s her cub. So over the course of season 1, they got closer,” Walsh explained to We. “She did this because deep down she believes Diaz isn’t ready to move on because he has a hero complex. She doesn’t want to see him get hurt like Agent Delgado. Her feelings are sincere, but we also feel like a mother who does not want to be separated from her child yet.
Larracuente had a similar thought process about how Harmon chose to “protect” Diaz.
“She cares about him and that’s what makes her different from someone else he would have been matched with.” The fact that after losing someone in the very first episode, she chooses to work with Diaz who is a rookie is a testament to her character,” he noted. “Before Diaz gets back in that vehicle at the very end of the episode, I think he has a real question.”
Larracuente continued: “The question that comes to mind is: ‘Can I trust this person?’ He finally realizes, “Geez, all this time she cared about me. Everything she did was just to protect me and I see that now.
Meanwhile, for Bellisario, the point of the twist was to show how much Harmon still had to teach.
“Any good teacher knows when they haven’t done their job – and that’s actually not a failure on Diaz’s part. He sees this as his own failure. But in reality, Harmon sees this as a shortcoming on his part. She didn’t do enough or she didn’t trap him and she still has work to do,” she said. We. “She obviously believes in him. She cares deeply and wants to support him in his career.
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Could things get romantic between Harmon and Diaz?
There’s no indication that Harmon and Diaz could become a couple in the future — but what’s the plan behind the scenes?
“The romantic side complicates things and perhaps lends itself to a little more predictability. Whereas here, we don’t have to fall into any of those traps or tropes,” Walsh teased. We. “They can literally be two colleagues. They are two co-workers bonded by the idea that they must look out for each other and survive the next shift. I think adding romance would only complicate things further. The other path allows us to be freer and to deepen the two characters.
Who is a dream guest star?
Notable guest stars from season 1 included Chicago FireIt is Monica Raymond, Ryan Dorsey And Bart Johnson. Walsh named Kurt Russell as his dream in the future, joking: “If I could get Kurt Russell in, I could die very, very happy.”
Will other characters take the lead in season 2?
Despite On call remaining largely focused on Diaz and Harmon, there is room for expansion – starting with the characters of LaSalle and Loughlin.
“They play a big role in it,” Walsh confirmed. “The shortfall is 100 percent. We have (already) prepared season 2, ideas and what it will be about (while waiting for an official renewal).
Loughlin and La Salle, meanwhile, expressed enthusiasm at We.
“We definitely have a path to see more of each other. The interesting thing is that we all fit together. How do all these characters come together? she noted. “They focus a lot on Harmon and Diaz on screen, but I think our approach is, ‘What does the big picture look like for all of us as characters?’ …There is so much to explore. But we’re in good hands with good writers, so I hope we move forward.
La Salle praised On call for not making Lasman and Bishop “one-dimensional,” adding, “By the time you get to the end of this season, some dynamics have really changed. It’s a great way to set up some great storytelling – if we were lucky enough to get additional seasons.
He continued: “Lori and I just spoke and we’re interested as actors to see if there’s more interaction between the two of us. We are in sync on many things but we also want to see what we are not in sync on? What do they really feel about each other? »
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Could there be a Chicago Crossovers – or an “On Call” spin-off?
Before co-creating On call with Elliot WolfWalsh worked on Chicago Police but that does not mean that the universes will intersect.
“I don’t want to do a crossover with any of the existing shows. I believe we are in our own universe and they are in their own universe,” he said. We. “However, by expanding our universe to other first responders, we are all very willing to do so. There are paramedics in Long Beach. It depends on how we manage to get the message across to the people watching the show. »
