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TV Media Weekly | April 27 - May 3, 2019 By Kenneth Andeel TV Media I t may be the king of proce- dural law enforcement dra- mas, but CBS is breaking the mold and trying something new. "The Red Line" premieres Sunday, April 28, and the net- work knows this drama is some- thing special. It's being billed as an "event series," and it has been scheduled in a unique for- mat intended to offer audiences a propulsive viewing experience with a swift resolution. The dra- ma focuses on the lives of three starkly dissimilar Chicago fami- lies as they deal with the conse- quences of an appalling, life- changing tragedy. It's a bold, timely and potentially contro- versial show that wrestles with hot-button subjects such as in- stitutional racism, police profil- ing and gun violence in Ameri- can culture. The cast of "The Red Line" is led by Noah Wyle, who returns to another fictionalized version of Chicago 10 years after his be- loved "ER" character Dr. John Carter last saved lives at the fic- tional Chicago County General Hospital. Wyle plays Daniel Calder, a Chicago teacher whose husband, Harrison, a black doc- tor, is shot to death by a white police officer responding to a call. While out on a late-night errand, Harrison witnesses a convenience store robbery, and after the perpetrator departs, Harrison approaches the injured store clerk to render assistance. The police arrive moments later, and one of the responding offi- cers, Paul Evans (played by Noel Fisher of Showtime's "Shame- less"), confuses Harrison for the suspect and opens fire without warning, killing him. This act is the central tragedy around which the story of "The Red Line" revolves, and the se- ries investigates the conse- quences of the killing not just for Daniel but for his adopted daughter, Jira (newcomer Aliyah Royale); for officer Evans and his ex-cop brother, Jim (Michael Patrick Thornton, "Private Prac- tice"); and for Jira's birth moth- er, Tia (Emayatzy Corinealdi, "Middle of Nowhere," 2012), who is running for Chicago's city council as a reform candidate. The dual meaning of "The Red Line's" title offers some in- sight into its scope and thematic goals. Superficially, a red line is often a metaphorical reference to an imaginary boundary not meant to be crossed, or a delim- iter between what is and isn't acceptable. The title also holds a subtler reference to Chicago's Red Line, the busiest rapid tran- sit line in the Chicago Transit Authority's L system. One of only five American rapid transit systems that run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the 23-mile- long Red Line is a major artery in the Chicago metropolitan area and connects huge (and hugely diverse) areas of the city. Between those two references lies a tidy encapsulation of "The Red Line" as a show: a forbid- den line is crossed, a violation occurs, and that event ends up connecting three families from very different socioeconomic, racial and cultural backgrounds who share the same urban living space. "The Red Line's" creative team includes executive pro- ducer Ava DuVernay ("Selma," 2014), who has never shied away from confronting the is- sue of racism in America, and her new series fearlessly pur- sues that sensitive topic. The epidemic of shootings of un- armed black men by white peo- ple, frequently involving police officers, has been a headline- grabbing issue in recent years. Throughout the last decade, multiple high-profile cases have caught the attention of the media and the public. In 2012, Florida teen Trayvon Martin was shot to death by a paranoid white man who sus- pected him of criminal intent. In 2014, Michael Brown of Fer- guson, Missouri, another black teenager, was fatally shot by a police officer who was pursuing him in response to a report of shoplifted cigars. In that same year, New Yorker Eric Garner died after an altercation with NYPD police officers who re- strained him using a chokehold (an incident that was recorded on video by bystanders). In 2015, Walter Scott was shot to death in North Charleston, South Carolina, from behind as he fled from an arresting officer (yet another incident that was caught on camera). This spate of killings, along with numerous others, awakened a social movement calling atten- tion to racial profiling and the cavalier use of dangerous or lethal force against black Americans. "The Red Line" is a timely, "ripped from the headlines" response to those incidents and others. The cast and creators of the show have made sure to mention that their project isn't merely a callous attempt to grab ratings by prob- ing a raw wound in the American psyche, but is instead a message of hope and healing. "The Red Line" demonstrates that it's pos- sible to emerge from catastrophe stronger than before, and that re- newal and reconciliation is only possible through coming together with others. Audiences will ultimately judge whether "The Red Line" succeeds in its mission. The se- ries begins its run with back-to- back new episodes Sunday, April 28, on CBS. The remaining epi- sodes will air on consecutive Sunday nights, again in the two- episode, two-hour format, until the full eight-episode series concludes. Michael Patrick Thornton as seen in "The Red Line" CBS's 'The Red Line' confronts institutional racism in America 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Encompass Credit Union 5 x 2"

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