The USA Network has made a name for itself as the best place on the basic cable dial to find new dramatic series, but given TNT’s current slate, it’s beginning to look as though USA had better start watching their ass; they’ve already got two solid entries in “The Closer” and “Saving Grace,” and now that they’re bringing in “Raising the Bar” and “Leverage,” things are looking even more impressive.
“Raising the Bar” is the latest contribution from Steven Bochco, the man who brought you such television classics as “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue,” and…yes!…”Cop Rock.” (Hey, he likes it.) As you may have guessed from the show’s title, Bochco is returning to the judicial system again, and he’s bringing another fantastic ensemble with him, including Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“NYPD Blue”), Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle”), Gloria Reuben (“E.R.”), and J. August Richards (“Angel”).
“This is a show that’s not just about criminal attorneys or prosecutors,” clarified Bochco. “It’s a show about the judicial system. We wanted to access legitimate points of view, not just from the defense side or the prosecution side, but from the judge’s point of view as well; we felt that we really needed to have a consistent representative voice for the series.” Enter Kaczmarek, who’ll be playing a judge for the second time in her career…though she’ll be a little less animated this time. (Her previous judicial role was as Judge Harm on “The Simpsons.”)
Seeing Gosselaar in the cast isn’t as big a surprise this time as it was when Bochco hired him for “NYPD Blue” back in 2001, but Bochco stands by his decision then and now. “Mark-Paul is one of the small, handful of best actors that we have in television today,” he said. “I hate to talk about a guy who is sitting here, but Mark-Paul has a big heart, and it’s been evident in his work ever since we got together, so when David and I started working on “Raising the Bar,” we always had Mark-Paul in our heads as an image for this guy. I’ve never worked with anybody who gives more of himself to the work process. He’s a wonderful professional; the ego gets checked at the door. That’s very refreshing.”
After he shook off the compliments, Gosselaar addressed Bochco’s comments, revealing that his first encounter with the legendary producer was when he auditioned for Bochco’s short-lived ABC series, “Philly.” “I knew the name,” he said, “(but) I had never seen an episode of ‘NYPD Blue.’ I didn’t see ‘Hill Street.’ So I just did my work, and then I remember him saying right in the room, ‘You are good.’ He had such an honest quality about him. To say that to an actor…I didn’t know how to take that. And then from that, I didn’t get ‘Philly,’ but three weeks later, he said that he would think about another character on ‘NYPD Blue,’ and half a year later, I was on that show. I’m in shock from that meeting, that he is able to see a quality in an actor and take him through a process. I feel like I blossomed and developed on that show to do the work that I’m doing now. He creates an environment that allows actors to do that, and you feel safe being with him. That’s what he does.”
Okay, enough back-patting. Let’s talk about the show itself.
