''The Mysteries of Laura'' is an American police procedural

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series that premiered on September 17, 2014 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. It was developed by

Jeff Rake Jeffrey Paul Rake is an American television producer and writer. He is known for his work on ''Boston Legal'' and creating the NBC shows ''Manifest'', '' The Mysteries of Laura'' and ''Miss Match''. Biography Rake was born in Philadelphia and ...

, who also serves as an executive producer. The series, which stars

Debra Messing Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing received short-lived roles on television series such as '' Ned and Stacey'' on Fox (1995–1997) and ...

as Detective Laura Diamond, was originally adapted from a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Los misterios de Laura ''Los misterios de Laura'' () is a prime-time Spanish police procedural comedy-drama television series that was broadcast on La 1 of Televisión Española from 2009 to 2014 and a television movie broadcast in 2022. It stars María Pujalte as Laur ...

'' by Carlos Vila, Javier Holgado, and Gregorio Quintana de Uña. On May 8, 2015, NBC renewed ''The Mysteries of Laura'' for a second season of 13 episodes, which premiered on September 23, 2015. On November 9, 2015, NBC ordered three additional episodes for the second season. On May 14, 2016, NBC canceled the series after two seasons.

Plot

The series follows the life of Laura Diamond, a

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

with the

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

's 2nd Precinct, who balances her day job with her off-duty hours as a single mother to twin sons. Meanwhile, she is trying to get Captain Jake Broderick, her soon-to-be-former-husband, who is also her boss, to sign the

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

papers. After he finally signs them, Laura re-enters the dating world, and after a rough start, finds herself attracted to Tony Abbott, a chef and

food truck A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare food from scratc ...

owner who she encounters on a case. He makes excuses to see her. At the end of the first season, Capt. Broderick is shot and grievously wounded during a convenience store robbery. While in the hospital, he admits to Laura that despite everything he is still deeply in love with her, but due to severe head trauma, forgets he did this, leaving only Laura knowing. Jake recovers, but at the beginning of the second season, the precinct has a new captain, Nancy Santiani, a stern, by-the-book taskmaster who immediately rubs the detectives the wrong way. Rather than transfer to another precinct, Broderick voluntarily takes a demotion to Senior Detective and partners with Laura, while Detective Billy Soto teams up with Detective Meredith Bose, with whom he has begun a relationship. Bose's previous partner, Frankie Pulaski, appears only in season one with the only explanation given for her departure being that she was not "senior enough" to stay in the position she accepted. The tone of the series was also altered in season two. Comedic elements, such as the rowdy behavior of Laura's boys, were reduced, while some focus was shifted to the triangle that develops between Laura, Jake, and Laura's new love interest Tony.

Cast

Main

as Detective Laura Diamond, the show's title character and chief protagonist. *

Josh Lucas Joshua Lucas Easy Dent Maurer (born June 20, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in various films, including '' American Psycho'' (2000), '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), '' The Deep End'' (2001), '' A Beautiful Mind'' (2 ...

as Captain Jake Broderick, Laura's former husband who was promoted to captain of her precinct at the start of the series. After being wounded in action, Jake takes a demotion to Senior Detective and becomes Laura's partner. *

Laz Alonso Laz or LAZ may refer to: People * Laz people of the Black Sea area **Laz language First name * Laz Alonso (born 1975), American actor * Laz Barrera (1924–1991), Cuban-born American racehorse trainer * Laz-D (born 1982), American rapper *Laz Dí ...

as Detective Billy Soto, Laura's initial partner, and later Detective Bose's partner/lover. *

Janina Gavankar Janina Zione Gavankar (; born November 29, 1980) is an American actress and musician. She is trained as a pianist, vocalist, orchestral percussionist and majored in theatre at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her roles include Shiva on ''The ...

as Detective Meredith Bose, a detective colleague of Laura and Billy's. * Max Jenkins as Max Spencer Carnegie, the 2nd Precinct's independently wealthy intern. * Meg Steedle as Detective Francesca "Frankie" Pulaski, who is from

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire (; ) (French for "clear water") is a city mostly located in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat, and with a small portion in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the stat ...

and becomes Detective Bose's partner for a while (season 1, episodes 15–22).

Recurring

Robert Klein Robert Klein (born February 8, 1942) is an American stand-up comedian, singer, and actor. He is known for his appearances on stage and screen. He has released four standup comedy specials: ''A Child of the 50s'' (1973), ''Mind Over Matter'' (197 ...

as Leo Diamond, Laura and Lucy's father and the grandfather of Nicholas and Harrison. * Charles and Vincent Reina as Nicholas and Harrison Broderick respectively, two rambunctious twin boys who are the sons of Laura and Jake, the grandsons of Leo, and the nephews of Lucy. * Alysia Joy Powell as Alicia, the nanny/housekeeper for Laura's and Jake's sons. *

Neal Bledsoe Neal Bledsoe (born March 26, 1981) is a Canadian and American actor, writer, and filmmaker. Early life Bledsoe was born in Toronto, but grew up in Seattle, Washington. Both of his grandfathers served in the Air Force during World War II and his ...

as Tony Abbott, a food truck owner and Laura's first serious boyfriend after divorcing Jake. Tony gets a job offer in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and the two break up later in season 2. *

Callie Thorne Calliope "Callie" Thorne is an American actress known for her role as Dr. Dani Santino on the USA Network series '' Necessary Roughness''. She is also known for past work such as her roles on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' as Detective Laura ...

as Captain Nancy Santiani (season 2), a by-the-book female who becomes the new captain at the precinct after Jake was wounded. She is later sniped and killed at the end of "The Mystery of the Unknown Caller." *

Enrico Colantoni Enrico Colantoni (born February 14, 1963) is a Canadian actor and director, best known for portraying Elliot DiMauro in the sitcom ''Just Shoot Me!'', Keith Mars on the television series ''Veronica Mars'', Louis Lutz on the short-lived sitcom ''H ...

as Dan Hauser, the police captain before Jake who was previously arrested and is currently in prison. Dan was known for nearly killing Laura. He briefly escaped in "The Mystery of the Convict Mentor" only to be apprehended by Laura. Dan later returned in "The Mystery of the Dark Heart" to help Laura's group investigate a murder done by a serial killer that Dan previously investigated. * Stockard Channing as Brenda Phillips (season 2), the "shark in heels" in-house counsel of a perfume company. *

Jenna Fischer Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...

as Jennifer Lambert (season 2), a prosecutor and a new love interest for Jake. In the season 2 finale, Jennifer accepts Jake's marriage proposal just before Laura reveals she wants Jake back in her life. *

Debby Ryan Deborah Ann Ryan (born May 13, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She started acting professionally onstage at the age of seven, and was later discovered during Disney Channel's nationwide search for new talent. Ryan's work for Disney Ch ...

as Lucy Diamond (season 2), Laura's trouble-making younger paternal half-sister and the half-aunt of Nicholas and Harrison. She is the daughter of Leo and a paralegal that Leo had an affair with.

Episodes

Production

The series was originally adapted from a Spanish television series, ''

'', by Carlos Vila and Javier Holgado. The American version was developed by Jeff Rake with Vila and Holgado. Rake also serves as an

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

with Aaron Kaplan, Greg Berlanti for Berlanti Productions, Todd Lituchy and

McG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

for

Warner Bros. Television Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

. The show was primarily filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

's 78th Precinct was used for exterior shots of the 2nd Precinct. It debuted on

during the 2014–15 television season, where it aired on Wednesday nights at 8 pm (ET/PT)/7 pm (CT). The series premiered on September 24, 2014. A preview aired beforehand on September 17, 2014, following the season finale of '' America's Got Talent''.

Reception

Ratings

The September 17, 2014, premiere drew a 2.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic and 10.2 million total viewers, in a special time slot leading out of the '' America's Got Talent'' season finale. It was the most-watched broadcast premiere of a series since March 2014. The regular-slot debut at 8 pm Eastern time on September 24, 2014, drew a 1.5 rating in the 18–49 demo and 9.9 million viewers overall. Although it dropped 25% in the 18–49 demo, it retained 97% of its total viewers of the previous week's preview. In total viewers, this was NBC's best result with in-season regularly scheduled programming versus all regularly scheduled competition in that time period in more than five years.

Critical reception

''The Mysteries of Laura'' received generally negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 22% approval rating with an average rating of 4.2/10 based on 41 reviews for the first season. The website's consensus reads, "Despite a talented cast, ''The Mysteries of Laura'' is dated both as a cop show and as a representation of single, working mothers." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the show has a score of 37 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Emilie Aries, however, called Messing's new character "the best depiction of women on the small screen".

Accolades

Broadcast

In Canada, the show was simulcast with the American airing on CTV and is also rerun on M3. In New Zealand, it premiered on January 12, 2015, on TV2. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, ''The Mysteries of Laura'' was picked up by 5 USA on December 22, 2014, and premiered on January 20, 2015. In Germany, the show is known as ''Detective Laura Diamond'', broadcast on Sat.1 since February 2, 2015. In Latin America, the show airs on

Warner Channel Warner TV is a pay television channel mainly airing in Latin America, Europe, parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its International unit that focuses on airing American series and films. Most ...

, premiering on May 25, 2015. In Australia, the series premiered on July 29, 2015, on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

. The first season has also been acquired in France by TF1. In India, the series is acquired by

Zee Café Zee Café is an Indian pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The channel mainly syndicates popular American and British television shows to appeal to the English-speaking population of India. History Zee English was ...

, which premiered the show on July 24, 2015, at 11:00 pm

IST Ist or IST may refer to: Information Science and Technology * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Science and Technology * Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Japan * Graduate School ...

with the Season 1 finale airing on August 26, 2015.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mysteries Of Laura, The 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American mystery television series 2010s American police comedy television series 2014 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings American television series based on Spanish television series English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department NBC original programming Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television shows set in New York City Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television series by Kapital Entertainment