''Public Morals'' is an American police drama television series, created, written, executive-produced and directed by

Edward Burns Edward Fitzgerald Burns (born January 29, 1968) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director best known for appearing in several films including ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), '' 15 Minutes'' (2001), ''Life or Something Like It'' (200 ...

. Set in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

during the 1960s, the show focuses on the Public Morals Division of the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...

and its officers' attempts to deal with

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

in the city, while managing their personal lives as

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

s. The series aired from August 25 to October 20, 2015, on

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

. The network collaborated with

Amblin Television Amblin Television is the television production division of Amblin Partners. It was established in 1984 by Amblin Entertainment as a small-screen production arm for Steven Spielberg's '' Amazing Stories'' anthology series for NBC. The company h ...

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, and Aaron Lubin as producers. On December 15, 2015, TNT canceled the series after one season.

Cast and characters

as Officer Terry Muldoon *

Michael Rapaport Michael David Rapaport (born March 20, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he has made over 100 appearances in film and television. His film roles include ''True Romance'' (1993), '' Higher Learning ...

as Officer Charlie Bullman, Terry's partner *Elizabeth Masucci as Christine Muldoon, Terry's wife *

Katrina Bowden Katrina Bowden (born September 19, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Cerie on the NBC sitcom '' 30 Rock'' (2006–2013) and as Flo Fulton on the CBS daytime soap opera '' The Bold and the Beautiful'' (2019–pre ...

as Fortune *

Ruben Santiago-Hudson Ruben Santiago-Hudson (born Ruben Santiago Jr., November 24, 1956) is an American actor, playwright, and director who has won national awards for his work in all three categories. He is best known for his role of Captain Roy Montgomery from 20 ...

as Lt. King *Wass Stevens as Officer Vince Latucci *

Keith Nobbs Keith Nobbs (born April 9, 1979) is an American stage, television, and film actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of Joey "Ice Cream" in the TV series ''The Black Donnellys''. Life and career A graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High Scho ...

as Pat Duffy * Austin Stowell as Officer Sean O'Bannon *

Patrick Murney Patrick Murney (born 1987) is an American actor known for his recurring roles in ''Seven Seconds'', ''Mare of Easttown'', '' Law & Order: Organized Crime'' and others. Early life and education Born in New York City in 1987, Murney is the son ...

as Officer Petey "Mac" MacGuinness *

Lyndon Smith Lyndon Smith (born June 7, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Natalie in the NBC drama '' Parenthood'' (2013–2015) and Dierdre in the TNT police drama ''Public Morals'' (2015). Life Smith is from Pensacola, Florida ...

as Deirdre *Brian Wiles as Officer Jimmy Shea *Cormac Cullinane as James Muldoon

Recurring

Neal McDonough Neal McDonough (born February 13, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Lynn "Buck" Compton in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' (2001), Deputy District Attorney David McNorris on ''Boomtown'' (2002–20 ...

as Rusty Patton *

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles i ...

as Joe Patton *

Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...

as Mr. O'Bannon *

Anita Gillette Anita Gillette ( Luebben; born August 16, 1936) is an American actress. She had numerous roles on Broadway, American television, and in feature films. She also made many appearances as a celebrity guest on television game shows. Early life Gill ...

as Eileen * Robert Knepper as Capt. Johanson * Fredric Lehne as Tommy Red * Kevin Corrigan as Smitty *

Peter Gerety Peter Gerety (born May 17, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known as Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Career Gerety is a veteran of stage, screen and television. In early 1992, he performed to critical acclaim on Broadway ...

as Sgt. Mike Muldoon *Aaron Dean Eisenberg as Richie Kane *Ray Wiederhold as Monk *

Corey Cott Corey Michael Cott (born March 30, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for playing Jack Kelly in the Broadway musical ''Newsies,'' replacing Jeremy Jordan, and for originating the role of Donny Novitski in the Broadway music ...

as Ryan *

Audrey Esparza Audrey Esparza (born March 4, 1986) is an American actress best known for her role as FBI agent Tasha Zapata on the American television series '' Blindspot'', and more recently as Liliana on ''Power'' and its spin-off, '' Power Book IV: Force''. ...

as Theresa

Episodes

Production

Creator

began working on film scripts about Irish-American New York City police officers and Irish-American gangsters when executive producer

suggested he write a script about his father's experience on the NYPD, while on the set of ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depicti ...

''. Though ''Public Morals'' did not draw from those scripts, Burns' research for them helped establish a foundation for the television series. In May 2015, TNT placed a 10-episode order for the series. While producing the series, Burns incorporated references to some of his favorite police and gangster films, including references to ''

The Hustler ''The Hustler'' is a 1961 American sports romantic drama film directed by Robert Rossen from Walter Tevis's 1959 novel of the same name, adapted by Rossen and Sidney Carroll. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson a ...

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

, The French Connection'', and '' Mean Streets'', among other films.

Release

The series premiered on TNT on August 25, 2015. All other episodes were released on demand before they were broadcast on TV: episodes 2–4 on August 26, and the remaining episodes on September 5, 2015.

Reception

''Public Morals'' received generally positive reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

the series holds an approval rating of 82% based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 7.06/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''Public Morals'' is a worthy mob crime drama, with a strong leading man and a talented supporting cast counterbalancing cliché-ridden dialogue." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the series has a score of 69 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

* * {{TNTShows 2015 American television series debuts 2015 American television series endings 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American police procedural television series English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Television shows set in New York City Television series set in the 1960s Television series by Amblin Entertainment Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios TNT (American TV network) original programming Works about Irish-American organized crime