''The Protector'' (also known as ''Exit 19''), is an American

police procedural 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 eith ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television series starring

Ally Walker Allene Damian "Ally" Walker (born August 25, 1961) is an American actress. She made her television debut in the NBC daytime soap opera '' Santa Barbara'' (1988) before landing the leading roles on the short-lived dramas '' True Blue'' (1989–199 ...

as Gloria Sheppard, a single mother who struggles to maintain the balance between her personal and professional life as an

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 ...

homicide detective. The series was broadcast in the United States on the cable channel Lifetime, and is a co-production between

ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television Filmmaking#Production, production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the List of assets owned by The Walt Disney Company#Disne ...

and Wass-Stein Productions. It premiered on June 12, 2011, and ended on September 19, 2011. It was created by

Michael Nankin Michael Nankin (born December 26, 1955) is an American film and television writer, director and producer. He has been nominated for the Humanitas Prize for his writing. Career Nankin's film career began in 1976 with a short film called ''Grav ...

and Jeffrey Jackson Bell. On September 8, 2011, Lifetime announced it would not renew the series for a second season. The series finale aired on September 19, 2011.

Overview

The series follows Gloria Sheppard, an

detective attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. A recent divorcée and single mother, Gloria has to perform her duties as an LAPD homicide detective while raising her twin sons. Gloria's brother, Davey Sheppard, whose house she recently moved into, helps to raise her two sons Nick and Leo. While at work, Gloria must solve some of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

' highest profile crimes with the assistance of her partner,

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 ...

Michelle Dulcett as well as Detectives Ramon "Romeo" Rush, Buerge, and Van Stone, while being overseen by her commanding officer,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Felix Valdez.

Cast and characters

Main

as Gloria Sheppard – An

attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. *

Tisha Campbell-Martin Tisha Michelle Campbell (born October 13, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut appearing in the 1986 rock musical comedy film ''Little Shop of Horrors'', and later starred on the short-lived NBC musical comedy dram ...

as Michelle Dulcett – An LAPD Detective II. She is Gloria Sheppard's partner in the Robbery-Homicide Division. *

Miguel Ferrer Miguel José Ferrer (February 7, 1955 – January 19, 2017) was an American actor. His breakthrough role was as Bob Morton in the 1987 film ''RoboCop''. Other film roles include Quigley in ''Blank Check'' (1994), Harbinger in ''Hot Shots! Part De ...

as Felix Valdez – An LAPD

. He is Gloria Sheppard's superior officer in the Robbery-Homicide Division. *

Chris Payne Gilbert Chris Payne Gilbert is an American actor. He is best known for his television role as Todd on the TBS sitcom '' 10 Items or Less'' (2006–2009). He also appeared in episodes of television series ''Dexter'', ''Burn Notice'', ''Moonlight'', '' ...

as Davey "Dave" Sheppard – Gloria Sheppard's brother and uncle to Leo and Nick Sheppard. *

Terrell Tilford Terrell Tilford (born July 22, 1969) is an American film, stage, and television actor best known for roles as Eric Bishop on '' Switched at Birth'' (2015–2017), David Grant on ''Guiding Light'' (1998–2001), as Greg Evans on ''One Life to Li ...

as Ramon "Romeo" Rush – An LAPD

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

and later Detective, attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. * Thomas Robinson as Leo Sheppard – Gloria Sheppard's youngest son. * Sage Ryan as Nicholas "Nick" Sheppard – Gloria Sheppard's oldest son.

Recurring

Larry Joe Campbell Lawrence Joseph Campbell (born November 29, 1970) is an American actor and comedian best known for his role as Andy on the ABC sitcom ''According to Jim''. Early life Born in Cadillac, Michigan, Campbell graduated from high school at Pine Ri ...

as Detective Ted Buerge – An LAPD Detective attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. * James Hanlon as Detective Joe Van Stone – An LAPD Detective attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. *

Karly Rothenberg Karly Rothenberg is an American film and television actress. Rothenberg is best known for her roles as warehouse worker Madge “Pudge” Madsen on ''The Office'' and Ms. Erin Shapiro in the Netflix mockumentary '' American Vandal''. She played ...

as Marlene – Loyal secretary to Lt. Valdez * Marianne Chambers as Nora Fitzpatrick *

McKinley Freeman McKinley Freeman (born June 9, 1973) is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films and on television series, including the starring role of Derek Roman in the drama series '' Hit the Floor'', portraying the role of Dominic in the OWN's ...

as Patrick 'Trick' Purcell

Development and production

Originally known as ''Exit 19'', The Protector was initially developed by Jeffrey Jackson Bell, based on a script written by

, in late 2007. In early 2008,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

placed an order for a pilot presentation for ''Exit 19''. Bell wrote the pilot. Nankin was attached to the project as director, with Jeffrey Jackson Bell, Nina Wass, and Gene Stein serving as executive producers. The pilot was a co-production of

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

, and Wass-Stein Productions. It was described as being about "a quirky homicide detective on the mean streets of Manhattan who also is a single mom to two kids in the suburbs on Long Island."

Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor

was the first to be cast in the pilot as 'Gloria'. She also served as co-executive producer. Next to join the pilot was

Matthew Lillard Matthew Lyn Lillard (born January 24, 1970) is an American actor. His early film work includes Chip Sutphin in ''Serial Mom'' (1994), Emmanuel "Cereal Killer" Goldstein in ''Hackers'' (1995), Stu Macher in ''Scream'' (1996), Stevo in ''SLC Punk ...

as Gloria's younger brother.

Rosie Perez Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's perf ...

, Ramon Rodriguez, and

Amy Farrington Amy Farrington (born September 20, 1966) is an American actress and model who is best known for her role as Stacey Devers on ''The Michael Richards Show''. Farrington currently portrays Detective Lt. Piper Lynch in the CBS drama series ''S.W.A.T ...

were the last actors to be cast, with Perez playing 'Lorna', Gloria's partner on 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 ...

, Rodriguez playing 'a smart flirty cop who works with Gloria and Lorna', and Farrington playing Gloria's neighbor. On May 10, 2008, it was announced that

had decided not to pick up the pilot to series. In July 2009, Lifetime announced it was redeveloping the pilot. In June 2010, the network placed a pilot order. Casting announcements began in November 2010, with

first to be cast. Walker portrays Gloria Sheppard, a Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective who is juggling her demanding personal and professional lives while raising two children. Next to join the series was

and

, with Campbell-Martin playing Michelle Dulcett, Gloria's smart and vivacious partner, and Gilbert playing Davey Sheppard, Gloria's younger brother, a recovering alcoholic, with whom she shares the house the two co-own. Last to be cast was

playing Lieutenant Felix Valdez, Gloria's boss. The network green lighted the series on February 7, 2011, with an order of 13 hour-long episodes. The series is a co-production between

and Wass-Stein Productions. On May 3, 2011, during the network's 2011–2012 upfronts presentation, Lifetime announced that ''Exit 19'' had been retitled ''The Protector'' and would debut in the summer of 2011. On September 8, 2011, Lifetime announced it would not renew the series for a second season. The series finale aired on September 19, 2011.

Episodes

International broadcasting

Reception

Critical reception

''The Protector'' has received mixed to average reviews, earning a score of 53 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 New York ''Daily News'' said of the series: "Where ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

'' can get soapy at times, it also starts with a premise that sets it apart. The Protector doesn't start with that advantage." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' gave a mixed review: "Ms. Walker is an appealing actress with a strong presence, but in the pilot, at least, her character isn't as well formed or well written as other tough-talking television dames." The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' gave the pilot a positive review:

''The Protector'' is fairly routine plot-wise but the breezy tone—conveyed through upbeat music and snappy dialogue—and strong, collegial performances make this series a welcome summer diversion.

Ratings

The pilot episode premiered with 1.90 million total viewers, scoring 0.9 million viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Protector, The (Tv series) 2011 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American police procedural television series English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Lifetime (TV network) original programming Television series by ABC Studios Television shows set in Los Angeles American detective television series