''Cracker'' is an American

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

series based upon the British television crime drama of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

created by

Jimmy McGovern James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...

. It stars

Robert Pastorelli Robert Joseph Pastorelli (June 21, 1954 – March 8, 2004) was an American actor. After he acquired a reputation as a skilled character actor in the 1980s and 1990s, Pastorelli's career went into decline after the death of his girlfriend under my ...

criminal psychologist In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane ...

Gerry 'Fitz' Fitzgerald and includes a young

Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. He began his career on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's drama series ''Cracker (American TV series), Cracker'' (1997–1998), after which he became known as a teen idol thro ...

in his first professional role, appearing in several episodes playing Fitz's eldest child.

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...

, the star of the original series, appears as a villain in one episode. An "innovative but disturbing" take on the standard police-detective genre, the Americanized ''Cracker'' consists of sixteen one-hour episodes set in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and was produced by Granada Entertainment. It ran on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

from September 18, 1997, until January 24, 1998. The remade show was broadcast as ''Fitz'' in some countries, including the UK. The series focuses on a professional

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

who assists the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

due to his unique ability in understanding the psychology of criminals. But this understanding is based largely on this troubled man having similar inner demons and addictions to the criminals which he is investigating.

Overview

Gerry "Fitz" Fitzgerald is an unconventional but brilliant psychologist, an insulting, nosy, loathsome individual. To be able to pay the bills, he gives lectures at colleges, has a small practice in a mini-mall, and has his own radio show. He also helps the

solve difficult cases, thanks mostly to his own quirks and perversity. These give him an uncanny ability to get inside the criminal mind. But that is only true when he does not have to deal with his own inner demons, which include drinking, gambling, extramarital affairs, and a tense relationship with his wife Judith and his 17-year-old son Michael.

Cast and characters

Main

as Gerry 'Fitz' Fitzgerald *

Angela Featherstone Angela Featherstone (born 3 April 1965) is a Canadian actress, writer, director, and advocate for children in foster care. She was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. Career Modeling Within a year of emancipating herself from foster ca ...

as Detective Hannah Tyler *

Carolyn McCormick Carolyn McCormick is an American actress who played Dr. Elizabeth Olivet in the ''Law & Order'' franchise. Life and career McCormick has worked in television, movies, theatre, and voice acting. Her breakthrough role was in '' Enemy Mine'', ...

as Judith Fitzgerald *

Robert Wisdom Robert Ray Wisdom (born September 14, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Howard "Bunny" Colvin in ''The Wire'', Norman "Lechero" St. John in ''Prison Break'', and Jim Moss in '' Barry''. He has been honored with an NAACP Ima ...

as Detective Danny Watlington *

as Michael Fitzgerald *

R. Lee Ermey Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film ''Full Met ...

as Lieutenant Fry

Recurring

Scott Sowers Scott Nicolai Sowers (November 5, 1963 April 1, 2018) was an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective Parker in the late 1990s ABC series ''Cracker'' and for his role as Stanley Kowalski on stage in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' ...

as Detective Allen Parker *

Paul Perri Paul John Perri (born November 6, 1953) is an American-Canadian film and television actor. Perri is best known for portraying Edwards and Skinless Parker in '' Hellraiser: Bloodline'', Harry Hume from ''Chaos'', and as Dr. Sidney Bloom from '' ...

as Waldron * Sally Levi (as Sally Livingstone) as Hope Fitzgerald *

Josh Lucas Joshua Lucas Easy Dent Maurer (born June 20, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in various films, including ''American Psycho'' (2000), '' A Beautiful Mind'' (2001), '' Sweet Home Alabama'' (2002), '' Wonderland'' (2003), ...

as Lieutenant Macy

Special guest appearances

as David Roberge *

Mariska Hargitay Mariska Magdolna Hargitay Mariska says her own first name and the name of her father; the interviewer, James Lipton, also says her full name near the start of the show. (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and philanthrop ...

as Detective Penny Hatfield *

Sarah Paulson Sarah Catharine Paulson (born December 17, 1974) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award. In 2017, ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...

as Janice *

John DiMaggio John William DiMaggio ( ; born September 4, 1968) is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on ''Futurama'', Jake the Dog on ''Adventure Time'', Marcus Fenix in the ''Gears of War'' series, Dr. Drakken on '' Kim Possible'', ...

as Simon *

Lorraine Toussaint Lorraine Toussaint ( born April 4, 1960) is a Trinidadian–born actress based in the United States. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. To ...

as Tisha Watlington *

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (; ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in '' Oz'', Mr. Eko in '' Lost'', Lock-Nah in '' The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty ...

as John Doe *

Peter Sarsgaard John Peter Sarsgaard (; born March 7, 1971) is an American actor. He studied at the Actors Studio, before rising to prominence playing atypical and sometimes villainous roles in film and television. He made his film debut with '' Dead Man W ...

as Spencer Trent *

Lee Tergesen Lee Allen Tergesen (; born July 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Chett Donnelly on USA Network's '' Weird Science'' (1994–1998), Tobias Beecher on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003), Peter McMillan on the second seas ...

as Dan Green *

Carlos Jacott Carlos Jacott (born July 28, 1967) is an American actor. Career He has guest-starred in numerous television series, such as ''Seinfeld'', ''Firefly'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', ''Angel'', and ''Studio 60 ...

as Jim *

Amber Benson Amber Benson (born January 8, 1977) is an American actress, writer, director, and producer. She is best known for her role as Tara Maclay on the TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1999–2002), and has directed, produced and starred in her o ...

as Amy *

Peter Firth Peter Macintosh Firth (born 27 October 1953) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One programme '' Spooks''; he is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the programme's ten-series lif ...

as Mitchell Grady

Production

Alternate titles considered for the series were ''Cracker: Mind Over Murder'' and ''Fitz''.

Episodes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0118290 1997 American television series debuts 1998 American television series endings 1990s American crime drama television series American television series based on British television series Television shows set in Los Angeles American English-language television shows Television series by The Kushner-Locke Company Television series about the Los Angeles Police Department American Broadcasting Company crime dramas