TV sleuth takes on real cases in WGN America's crime comedy 'Carter'
WGN America hopes to cash in on ratings gold by adding a crime comedy that became a hit in Canada.
“Carter” debuts on the cable network Tuesday, Aug. 7, following a successful run on Bravo! Canada and CTV. Jerry O'Connell (“Crossing Jordan,” “The Defenders”) stars as title character Harley Carter, actor and star of the hit TV detective series “Call Carter,” who retreats to his small Canadian hometown following a very public and very embarrassing red carpet meltdown.
While the locals generally welcome him back, many can't see past his TV persona and no one takes him seriously, including best friends Sam (Sydney Poitier Heartsong), a no-nonsense veteran cop; and Dave (Kristian Bruun), a street-wise coffee truck owner.
But that quickly changes when he and his pals become embroiled in a murder mystery in town and he employs the detective techniques learned from his TV show to investigate the crime. Soon, sleuthing becomes a regular gig.
“I didn't have to do much research for this guy,” the affable O'Connell admits. “I did a show on NBC for six seasons called ‘Crossing Jordan' and I played a cop in that. And so every episode I'd usually have a chase scene, sometimes on foot, sometimes by car, and it would always be me tackling bad guys, punks and cuffing them. And then usually in the TV world ... the one who did it was usually the one who was sitting behind a desk and feigned sadness and wanted to help the police as much as possible.
“I'm just telling you,” he continues, “if I were Harley Carter helping the police, the things I would tell them. So the fact that I was an actor who played a cop on TV for six seasons, I didn't have to go full Daniel Day-Lewis mode and become Abe Lincoln for two years of my life. The only stretch for me is the character that I play in ‘Carter' I think is significantly more famous than I am.”
Indeed, this show within a show spoofs the TV detective genre and many of its conventions, which the actor found to be “superfun.”
“I didn't even realize what a fan of the genre I was until I started doing this show,” he says. “But I was like, ‘Wow, this is just like “Castle.” This is just like “Monk.” ... And ‘Carter' is a little different because it truly makes fun of television. Because while Angela Lansbury was a fiction writer (on ‘Murder, She Wrote'), the character I play, Carter, his only knowledge is playing a cop on TV and how cops on TV do things. So it's almost like Angela Lansbury's character on steroids.”
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“Carter”
Premieres at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7, on WGN America