The newest unscripted law enforcement show, Boston’s Finest, follows members from all levels of the Boston Police Department through their work and home lives. Like any behind-the-scenes look at law enforcement, it’s a peek at the men and women behind the badge as they battle the balancing act of family and the daily grind.
Episode One roars out of the gate, with a tense scene at a nighttime altercation with suspicion of a firearm. Viewers are introduced to Officer Jenn Fenton, a six-year veteran, who, prior to serving her city on patrol, served her country in Afghanistan as part of a military police unit. Her day at work consists of anything and everything from running down warrants to traffic stops. Her twin sister’s battle with drug addiction drives her to help keep narcotics off the street.
Viewers also get a glimpse at the lives of gang unit officers Greg McCormick, Myles Lawton and Terrique Chambers, who work on the night team and, with the likelihood of illegal activity increased, try every day to make sure they make it home to their families. When reports of a member of the Bedford Avenue gang in possession of a gun, the gang unit rolls up and lock up three out of four gang members present, while Duane “Mookie” Flannery escapes. Mookie becomes a task for officers Diamantino Araujo and Manny Canuto of the gang unit day shift.
Greg Dankers works the fugitive unit and his twin boys with his wife, also Boston PD, whom he met on the job. He is part of a team responsible for tracking down those suspected of violent felonies. The veteran of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm uses all manner of methods to get his man, from tailing a suspect’s girlfriend from her own court date to corralling one by rattling every cage but one and scooping him up when he thinks he’s safe.
Boston’s Finest is well-produced and does a good job of telling an officer’s story in an unscripted format. It’s also very Boston, thick with accents, bleeped expletives and complete with the Dropkick Murphys’ “Out of Our Heads” as a theme song. Think COPS on the set of The Departed. The gamble is whether or not viewers would rather watch real-life, unscripted drama or escapist fiction. I tend to go for the latter, but, as someone who hates police procedurals, I’ll take Boston’s Finest any day to get my fill of the boys and broads in blue.
