''Central Division'' is a
police drama
The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...
web series
A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...
about detectives in the
LAPD
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
's downtown precinct (known as Central Division). The show premiered on July 20, 2009. ''Central Division'' was created by Aleem Hossain and stars Brian Silverman and Clay Wilcox.
History
A lack of gritty cop shows on television in 2009 inspired Hossain to create one on the internet. He had been a longtime fan of programs like
Homicide: Life on the Streets,
NYPD Blue
''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...
, and
The Shield
''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...
. Hossain wrote and directed all four episodes of Season 1, which were shot on June 27, 2009 in Los Angeles.
Characters and Plot
Season 1
The first season of the show centers on Detective Alan Edwards (played by Brian Silverman) and Detective Frank Hodge (played by Clay Wilcox) of the LAPD's central division. After leaving an internal affairs interview the two detectives find a body in the trunk of their car and this sets off the major events of the first season.
Critical reception
Season 1 was well received by web media critics:
Tubefilter's review was titled 'Central Division Brings Back the Punchy Dark Cops Show' and had high praise for the show: "Wow. Central Division is one intense cop drama... check this show out, please, you won’t regret it."
Visioweb said "Brian Silverman and Clay Wilcox deliver a tight performance, enhanced by the dark and brooding cinematography of Julie Kirkwood... As short as it may be, it is a powerful show."
Dauntless Media called Central Division "a series worth following" with a "truly shocking twist."
Review of Episode 2 of Central Division
, DauntlessMedia.net
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Central Division (Web Series)
Crime fiction
Digital media
American drama web series
Police procedurals