Carter Shaw (played by Dylan McDermott) is the head of a crack undercover team of LAPD officers who are so covert, many of their own colleagues do not even know they are involved. His team includes a recently married cop (played by Omari Hardwick from TNT’s Saved) who struggles with personal relationships he has developed while undercover; a shoot-from-the-hip officer (played by Logan Marshall-Green) whose activities make fellow team members wonder if he has gone over to the bad side; and a callow patrolwoman (played by Nicki Aycox) brought in because of her excellent skill in lying and her shady past.
Cast:
Carter Shaw (Dylan McDermott) is a tough, street-wise cop whose relentless pursuit of LA’s worst criminals has cost him a marriage and any semblance of a personal life. Having worked everything from homicide to vice, Carter has lived in the city’s dark underworld long enough to know that to fight crime you have to almost be more criminal than cop, an attitude that makes him a pariah on the force and a harsh taskmaster to the crack team of undercover cops he now runs. This is a 24/7 job for Carter and, because he has no family or social connections to distract him, he sometimes expects his team to act as if they too have no family, friends or social life. Running this group of undercover cops constantly challenges Carter to strike a balance between results and risk, unspoken compassion for his team and the dangerous line they cross each time they go under. Though it seems Carter’s willing to sacrifice their lives to catch the bad guys, there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to protect them.
Jaimie Allen (Nicki Aycox) is the greenest member of the team. She has been chosen not because of her honesty, but rather because she successfully fabricated her entire past on her police application, a skill that would be very useful for an undercover cop. She keeps her true history private, indicating something shady or emotionally scarring lurks in her past. Having just joined the team, she is still developing her ability to think and act on the fly, but she’s driven to succeed because this job may be penance for whoever she was before joining Carter’s unit.
Dean Bendis (Logan Marshall-Green) is the gun-slinger in the group, a seat-of-your-pants, fearless loose-cannon who gives 110 percent to every assignment he takes. He is very quick on his feet, able to thin-slice a problem in a split second and determine a fresh course of action. Dean knows how to circumvent departmental policies in order to achieve the desired result in a case. But more importantly, he knows how to get around Carter. Dean’s shoot-from-the-hip attitude is what makes him so effective undercover, but it also makes him the wild card of the team.
Ty Curtis (Omari Hardwick) is a gifted undercover cop but, now that he is married to a beautiful and loving wife, Melissa, there are some concerns as to whether his heart is truly in the game. Ty tells Melissa his current stint with Carter’s team is nothing more than a stepping stone to something bigger and better, possibly even his own police command. Ty’s devotion to Melissa could eventually become a liability, especially given the number of acquaintances – and even past romances – he has forged in the underworld of Los Angeles.
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Episode Guide
Episode 1.01 – Pilot
Aired: 15/07/2009
After an undercover FBI agent’s body is dumped on the side of the road, all eyes turn toward Dean Bendis, an undercover LAPD officer currently embedded with the gang believed to be responsible for the FBI agent’s attempted murder. Dean’s boss, Carter Shaw, is determined to bring the gang leader down while also ensuring that Dean has not turned and switched loyalties. Carter sends in Ty Curtis, who must leave his life as a newlywed to return to the seedy underbelly of the criminal world and get Dean out. Meanwhile, Carter recruits and trains the latest member of his team, Jaimie Allen, a patrol cop who has successfully fabricated her entire past. James Russo of Extremities fame guest stars
Episode 1.02 – Guns, Strippers and Wives
Aired: 22/07/2009
Ty goes undercover to search for a gun trafficker, but nearly blows his cover by breaking a crucial rule and seeing his wife on her birthday. Team leader Carter must come up with $100,000 in less than 12 hours to keep Ty's mission protected...and to save his life. Gregg Henry of The Hunt for the BTK Killer fame guest stars
Episode 1.03 – Purity
Aired: 29/07/2009
A ruthless drug trafficker with a background as a lawyer proves a difficult target for the team, especially when the sting operation’s deadline gets pushed up. Jaimie is on the front lines of this case, which may be her hardest challenge yet
Episode 1.04 - K-Town
Airdate: 5/08/2009
Ty and Dean go after a major Korean gang into everything from drugs to counterfeiting. Their target is known as President Lee, an old-school mob boss who doesn’t take lip from anyone. But their biggest problem might be more internal, as Ty and Dean butt heads over every aspect of the case, with Ty being too cautious and Dean throwing caution to the wind.
Episode 1.05 – August
Airdate: 12/08/2009
The team is assigned to infiltrate and rescue a kidnapper’s victim. However, when the FBI gets involved, the team and the victim are put in danger, making Carter angry
Episode 1.06 – Ice
Airdate: 19/09/ 2009
Carter and his team try to take down a major criminal ring that launders money through diamonds. As Ty tries to make inroads with a club owner interested in pulling a diamond heist, Dean and Jaimie pose as a married couple in order to forge a connection with the biggest fence in the business. Meanwhile, Ty begins to second-guess the danger he faces on the job after Melissa tells him she wants to start a family.
[Source:TNT.tv, wiki character guide]
