If Swingtown [1] is a step outside the box for CBS, the network's other Summer drama, Flashpoint [2], seems like a perfect fit. It's a cop show, set in a specialized unit that "rescues hostages, busts gangs, defuses bombs, climbs the sides of buildings and talks down suicidal teens," and it should slip in nicely with the network's crime-of-the-week brand.
The show, which premieres July 11, came to CBS under rather unusual circumstances. Picked up during the writers' strike [3], Flashpoint is a Canadian production and will air simultaneously on CBS and CTV. The show is set entirely in Canada and is based on Toronto's actual Emergency Task Force, which is similar to a SWAT team in the US.
The show stars Enrico Colantoni (of Veronica Mars [4], among other things) and Amy Jo Johnston (of Wildfire and Felicity), and from the preview clips I've seen, it seems to have a good energy to it. The downside: I doubt its Fridays-at-10 timeslot will do it any favors in terms of getting an audience outside the most hardcore cop-show viewers. Want to check it out? For a preview and a clip from the first episode, just .
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Photo and video courtesy of CBS [6]