Shots Fired, on FOX
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A 10-part series about a couple of fatal shootings in the town of Gate Station, North Carolina. It begins with a black police deputy named Joshua Beck shooting a white teenager named Jesse Carr, whom Beck claims had tried to grab his gun. The Department of Justice sends a prosecutor named Preston Terry and an investigator named Ashe Akino to investigate the case, and determine whether the shooting was justified or not. And Beck's wife, Kerry, is scared about what might happen to her husband. In the course of their investigation, Preston and Ashe learn of another recent shooting, of a black teenager named Joey Campbell- possibly also by the police- which hasn't been investigated at all. Eventually, Terry and Akino decide they need to investigate both cases. And it must be noted that Beck is the only black cop in his precinct. Some of the white cops are angry at him, and he only seems to have one real friend on the force, Deputy Caleb Brooks. Sheriff Daniel Platt seems to be on Beck's side, but it's unclear whether he can really be trusted. There's also a sheriff's lieutenant named Breeland (Stephen Moyer), who seems like a potential impediment to the DOJ's investigation.
Meanwhile, there are other things going on. Ashe is separated from a man named Javier, with whom she has a young daughter named Kai. And because Ashe has anger control issues, Javier is now suing for sole custody, unless she gets help for her problem. As for Preston, he has family issues of his own, including a rivalry with his brother, Maceo, who is a famous football player. Preston himself gave up a promising career in baseball to become a lawyer, a decision his father finds disappointing. Also, Ashe has a one night stand with Maceo, while Preston is hooking up with Sarah Ellis, who is an aide to North Carolina's governor, Patricia Eamons (Helen Hunt). There's also a pastor named Janae James, who brings Alicia Carr and Shameeka Campbell (the mothers of Jesse and Joey) together, to unite the community in mourning. But she also seems have an ulterior agenda. Meanwhile, Governor Eamons has ties to a real estate mogul, Arlen Cox (Richard Dreyfuss), who plans to build a privatized prison in the area. And Cox becomes a suspect in the Joey Campbell shooting, which also ties into police corruption in Gate Station. And... I dunno, lots of stuff happens. And Preston and Ashe themselves sometimes argue with each other about their methods, but ultimately they make a good team.
Well, I don't want to spoil how it all ends. Both cases are eventually wrapped up, for good or ill. And the series is a fairly accurate reflection of America's real world justice system (which is, to say the least, often terribly disappointing). But I do think that despite a less than ideal outcome to the series, there is some hope that things will improve, in Gate Station. However, I also want to say I feel like the series could have been shorter. It just seemed like, as many different plot threads as there were, the actual investigation took a lot longer than it should have. Honestly, I'm not sure what Preston and Ashe did with all their time. But whatever, it was still a decent show.