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On Call (TV series)
2025 procedural drama television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On Call is an American police procedural and serial drama created by Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf for streaming on IMDb TV. The series stars Troian Bellisario and Brandon Larracuente and follows law enforcement officers of the Long Beach Police Department in California. The series was initially ordered in May 2021 with Elliot's father Dick Wolf attached as an executive producer with his production company, Wolf Entertainment. Ben Watkins later joined as the showrunner and also executive produced the show alongside Walsh, Elliot, and others.
It is the first streaming television series from Dick, as well as the first of his to be produced in a half-hour format. The program later shifted its release to Amazon Prime Video. Other members of the cast and crew include those who previously worked with Dick on his other franchises. The show was filmed on-location in Long Beach, California in 2023 and utilized experimental techniques. On Call's eight episodes were released on January 9, 2025, with a soundtrack album following the day after. It received mixed reviews from critics. In May 2025, the series was canceled after one season, but is being shopped to other streaming platforms.
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Premise
On Call follows Traci Harmon, a senior training officer with the Long Beach Police Department tasked with training rookie officer Alex Diaz. Throughout the episodes Harmon and Diaz respond to emergency calls in Long Beach, California. An overarching story arc revolves around Harmon, Diaz, and other officers, assisting in the murder investigation of a fellow officer who was executed during a routine traffic stop. The series deals with the effects on the professional and personal lives of the officers involved in the case.
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Cast and characters
Main
- Troian Bellisario as Officer Traci Harmon
- Brandon Larracuente as Officer Alex Diaz
Recurring
- Eriq LaSalle as Sergeant Lasman
- Lori Loughlin as Lieutenant Bishop
- Robert Bailey Jr. as Officer Holt
- Rich Ting as Detective Sergeant Tyson Koyama
- Mac Brandt as Officer Barlowe
- Lobo Sebastian as Smokey
Guest
- Monica Raymund as Officer Maria Delgado
- Ian Down as Maniac
- Annabella Didion as Leona
Episodes
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Production
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Development
In May 2021, IMDb TV ordered On Call, a half-hour police procedural to be executive produced by Dick Wolf. It is the first scripted streaming television series and the first half-hour drama from Wolf, who has a history of working with broadcast networks. His production company, Wolf Entertainment, as well as Universal Television, ATTN:, and Amazon MGM Studios were attached to produce the show.[1][2][3] It was reported that Ben Watkins would be the series' showrunner and would executive produce it alongside Wolf's son, Elliot. Derek Haas, Peter Jankowski, and Arthur W. Forney, with Matthew Segal and Taye Shuayb for ATTN: took on additional executive producer roles.[4] IMDb TV was later rebranded as Amazon Freevee. The eight-episode series was co-created by Tim Walsh, who also joined as an executive producer, and Elliot.[5]
Eriq La Salle rounded out the executive production staff and directed episodes 1, 2, 5, and 6.[5] The remaining episodes were directed by Brenna Malloy. Walsh, La Salle, Haas, Jankowski, and Malloy previously worked with Dick on various series in his Chicago, FBI, and Law & Order franchises.[6][7][8][9][10] Writing on the program was temporarily halted in May 2023 during the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike; at this time it was revealed that it would actually release on Amazon Prime Video instead.[11]
Filming for On Call took place on-location in the Southern California city of Long Beach where the series is set and was underway by May 2023.[4][5][12] Recording mixed traditional television cameras with experimental found footage formats utilizing bodycams, dashcams, and cell phone cameras.[13] All eight episodes were released on January 9, 2025.[14] After the first season had concluded, Walsh stated that he was "hopeful" that there would be a second season and that "some threads" had been left open.[15]
Casting
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Troian Bellisario (left) and Brandon Larracuente (right) headlined the series as Officers Traci harmon and Alex Diaz.
Troian Bellisario and Brandon Larracuente lead the series cast portraying Traci Harmon and Alex Diaz. Harmon is a seasoned training officer who is tasked with training Diaz, a new rookie.[5] LaSalle also joined the series cast with Lori Loughlin and Rich Ting. They play the higher-ranking officer roles of Sergeant Lasman, Lieutenant Bishop, and Sergeant Koyama, respectively.[16] It is Loughlin's first major television role following her involvement in the Varsity Blues scandal.[17] The role of Bishop was originally offered to Michael Beach who accepted it, but was ultimately unable to take part in the series due to scheduling conflicts. Other actors were considered for the role before La Salle decided to take it up himself as he wanted the opportunity to act, produce, and direct the same series.[18]
When a trailer for the series was released, it was revealed that Monica Raymund, who starred in Chicago Fire, would also appear in the premiere episode as Officer Maria Delgado.[19][20] Delgado was killed-off less than three minutes into the episode. Walsh explained this decision, stating that the series "needed someone to fill that role, to cast that shadow" and that "we wanted people to believe it was a show about her, and it's not exactly what happens."[21] Additional roles were filled by Mac Brandt, Lobo Sebastian, Robert Bailey Jr., Annabella Didion, and Ian Down.[22]
Soundtrack
The series score was composed by Atli Örvarsson, who also worked on the Chicago and FBI franchises.[23] A digital soundtrack album titled On Call (Prime Video Original Series Soundtrack) was released by Lakeshore Records on January 10, 2025, and was accompanied by a single first released on YouTube one day prior.[24][25]
All music is composed by Atli Örvarsson.
Cancellation
On May 9, 2025, Prime Video canceled the series after one season. Amazon was initially interested in ordering two additional seasons of the program, but with a reduced licensing fee, under a cost-plus contract model that Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television could not afford. The series was pitched to other streaming platforms, with negotiations underway with two of them, one being Peacock, which houses other series of Dick Wolf's and is owned by NBCUniversal. Additionally, the possibility of turning On Call into a media franchise, with at least one spin-off series, was included in these discussions as well. If a new platform for the show was found, Amazon allowed producers to regain control of the first season's streaming rights.[26][27] Ultimately, no agreement was reached with either of these streamers, although conversations have continued elsewhere with chances for a renewal considered to be low. In June, Larracuente was cast in a main role on the fourteenth season of Chicago Fire.[28]
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Reception
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Viewing figures
Within four days of the show's premiere date it had been seen by 620,000 households, 26% of which were predominately Black households.[29] A week after of the series' release, On Call ranked as the most-watched show on Prime Video in the United States.[30] According to Nielsen ratings the series was the tenth most-watched original program across all streaming services for the week of January 20–26, 2025, with 297 million minutes viewed.[31]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 56% of 16 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "On Call is an undemanding patrol thanks to its half-hour format, but the shorter runtime is about the only new novelty it brings to the cop drama genre."[33] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[32] The series received primarily mixed reviews.[26]
Writing a review for Comic Book Resources, Brittany Frederick opined that the program established itself by avoiding the overused elements typical for the genre and that the shorter runtime allowed it to avoid filler scenes.[37] Jonathan Wilson from Ready Steady Cut described the series as "a new kind of cop drama, blending serialized drama with a procedural, and while not all of it works, the result is mostly lean, mean entertainment."[39]
Isabella Soares with Collider praised the chemistry between Belisario and Larraccuente's characters, writing that it "sets the tone for the show's more humane approach to the procedural."[35] But Why Though critic Kate Sánchez penned a more mixed review and said the program "lacks catharsis but attempts complexity". She explained that the focus on patrol officers rather than detectives allows the audience to see more danger, but criticized the copaganda and portrayal of gangs. Sánchez concluded her review by adding that it "doesn't reinvent the genre but it does thrive in it", believing that a longer episode count would work better for the series.[34]
Looper's Ryder Alistair condemned On Call's format, saying that it was "awkwardly divided" between its overarching story and case of the week, stating "the continuing storyline ensures it can't be enjoyed as an episodic cop show like its broadcast counterparts, and is too generic and reliant on cliché to hold interest by itself."[38] Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Nina Metz wrote that the series was "so intent on selling audiences on the idea that police are unfairly maligned and in danger every moment, of every day, that it forgets to tell a coherent or even fitfully entertaining story." Metz later criticized the practicality of the show, comparing the number of shootouts it had to those at the O.K. Corral.[36]
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References
External links
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