1. Is there anything Jennifer
Lopez hasn’t tried her hand at
in the world of showbiz? A skim
of her Wikipedia page will tell
you the 47-year-old mother-
of-twins is hailed as a singer,
songwriter, dancer, composer,
actor, fashion designer and
producer.
Her booty-shaking tunes
are bangin’ and her judging
on American Idol was spot on,
but her acting skills have been,
well, let’s just say seriously
questionable over the years (not
even her most ardent fans will
ever forget the painfully awful
Gigli, the movie she and ex-
fiance Ben Affleck “won” Razzies
for, in the annual American
accolade that recognises the
worst in the film industry).
But she hasn’t given up on
acting just yet – Jenny from the
Block is ditching the trademark
sparkly, body-con dresses and
microphone for a blue suit and
badge, to star as a New York City
detective in Shades of Blue, a
new small-screen crime drama
series airing on Foxtel’s Universal
Channel.
She plays Harlee Santos,
a struggling single mum who
works inside a tight-knit group of
corrupt cops led by Lieutenant
Matt Wozniak (Emmy Award-
winner Ray Liotta), accepting
bribes and protection money to
help give her daughter Cristina
(Sarah Jeffery) a better future.
However, that comes to an
abrupt end when she is caught
doing a dodgy deal by the FBI,
who then force her to turn
informant on her crew, leaving
her battling with loyalty, honour
and betrayal as she decide
whether to protect her brothers
in blue and face prison time or
redeem herself and secure her
daughter’s future.
As Lopez’s no-nonsense yet
likeable character Santos says:
“It happened so slowly I didn’t
realise and so quickly I never saw
it coming.”
Complicating matters even
further are FBI handler Special
Agent Robert Stahl’s (Warren
Kole) unhealthy obsession with
her, and Wozniak’s hunch that
there is a rat in his team.
Sounds juicy, right? This
thrilling police procedural,
executive produced by Lopez
and Idol pal Ryan Seacrest,
breathes new life into the
oft-overdone genre, and
thankfully Lopez’s acting skills
are on point, whether she is
wielding a hand gun and chasing
down crims, or agonising over
missing her daughter’s music
recital. Unsurprisingly, she also
manages to make a police
uniform look glam.
Helping the dark drama to
clip along nicely is the stellar
supporting cast, including Drea
de Matteo (The Sopranos),
Vincent Laresca (Graceland)
and Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger
Games).
Perhaps it’s time to let Lopez
legitimately call herself an actor.
She certainly deserves the
accolade with this gritty effort
that is likely to have you hooked
by the second episode – Shades
of Blue might not be quite as
graphic or as compelling as The
Shield, but it’s a step above NCIS.
The show’s first season has
already aired in the US and it has
been renewed for a 13-episode
second series, so let that be the
evidence you need that this isn’t
going to end up on the [cutting
room] floor.
n Shades of Blue, Tuesday,
8.30pm, on Universal
Channel (Foxtel)
J-Lo
gets
dirty
Feature Story
American Idol host and pop star Jennifer Lopez is getting serious as a no-nonsense cop with
questionable motives in police drama Shades of Blue, writes Claire Henderson.
Busted: Jennifer Lopez plays crooked cop Harlee Santos in Shades of Blue.