''The Protector'' (also known as ''Exit 19''), is an American

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series starring

Ally Walker Allene Damian "Ally" Walker (born August 25, 1961) is an American actress. She made her television debut in the NBC daytime soap opera '' Santa Barbara'' (1988) before landing the leading roles on the short-lived dramas '' True Blue'' (1989–199 ...

as Gloria Sheppard, a single mother who struggles to maintain the balance between her personal and professional life as an

LAPD 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 ...

homicide detective. The series was broadcast in the United States on the cable channel Lifetime, and is a co-production between

ABC Studios ABC Signature was a production arm of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment and division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio's ...

and Wass-Stein Productions. It premiered on June 12, 2011, and ended on September 19, 2011. It was created by

Michael Nankin Michael Nankin (born December 26, 1955) is an American film and television writer, director and producer. He was nominated for the Humanitas Prize for his writing. Career Nankin's film career began in 1976 with a short film called ''Gravity'' ...

and

Jeffrey Jackson Bell Jeffrey Jackson Bell is an American writer and producer best known for his work on television. He began his career writing for ''The X-Files'', where he stayed for three seasons, then became a writer/director/producer on ''Angel (1999 TV series) ...

. On September 8, 2011, Lifetime announced it would not renew the series for a second season. The series finale aired on September 19, 2011.

Overview

The series follows Gloria Sheppard, an

detective attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. A recent divorcée and single mother, Gloria has to perform her duties as an LAPD homicide detective while raising her twin sons. Gloria's brother, Davey Sheppard, whose house she recently moved into, helps to raise her two sons Nick and Leo. While at work, Gloria must solve some of

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, ...

' highest profile crimes with the assistance of her partner,

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

Michelle Dulcett as well as Detectives Ramon "Romeo" Rush, Buerge, and Van Stone, while being overseen by her commanding officer,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Felix Valdez.

Cast and characters

Main

as Gloria Sheppard – An

attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. *

Tisha Campbell-Martin Tisha Michelle Campbell (born October 13, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut appearing in the 1986 rock musical comedy film ''Little Shop of Horrors'', and later starred on the NBC musical comedy drama ''Rags to ...

as Michelle Dulcett – An LAPD Detective II. She is Gloria Sheppard's partner in the Robbery-Homicide Division. *

Miguel Ferrer Miguel José Ferrer (February 7, 1955 – January 19, 2017) was an American actor. His breakthrough role was as Bob Morton in the 1987 film ''RoboCop''. Other film roles include Harbinger in '' Hot Shots! Part Deux'' (1993), Quigley in '' Blank ...

as Felix Valdez – An LAPD

. He is Gloria Sheppard's superior officer in the Robbery-Homicide Division. * Chris Payne Gilbert as Davey "Dave" Sheppard – Gloria Sheppard's brother and uncle to Leo and Nick Sheppard. * Terrell Tilford as Ramon "Romeo" Rush – An LAPD

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

and later Detective, attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. * Thomas Robinson as Leo Sheppard – Gloria Sheppard's youngest son. * Sage Ryan as Nicholas "Nick" Sheppard – Gloria Sheppard's oldest son.

Recurring

Larry Joe Campbell Larry Joe Campbell is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Andy on the ABC sitcom '' According to Jim''. Early life Campbell was born in Pontiac, Michigan, however, grew up in Cadillac. He graduated from high sch ...

as Detective Ted Buerge – An LAPD Detective attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. *

James Hanlon James Hanlon (born November 12, 1966) is an American actor and director; he also served as a New York City firefighter. He executive produced and directed the CBS documentary film ''9/11''. Early life and education Hanlon was born in the South ...

as Detective Joe Van Stone – An LAPD Detective attached to the Robbery-Homicide Division. *

Karly Rothenberg Karly Rothenberg (born 1962) is an American film and television actress. Rothenberg is best known for her roles as warehouse worker Madge “Pudge” Madsen on ''The Office'' and Ms. Erin Shapiro in the Netflix mockumentary '' American Vandal''. ...

as Marlene – Loyal secretary to Lt. Valdez * Marianne Chambers as Nora Fitzpatrick *

McKinley Freeman McKinley Freeman (born June 9, 1976) is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films and on television series, including the starring role of Derek Roman in the drama series '' Hit the Floor'', portraying the role of Dominic in the OWN ...

as Patrick 'Trick' Purcell *

Patty Duke Anna Marie Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016), known professionally as Patty Duke, was an American actress. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ...

as Gloria's mom

Development and production

Originally known as ''Exit 19'', The Protector was initially developed by

, based on a script written by

, in late 2007. In early 2008,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

placed an order for a pilot presentation for ''Exit 19''. Bell wrote the pilot. Nankin was attached to the project as director, with Jeffrey Jackson Bell, Nina Wass, and Gene Stein serving as executive producers. The pilot was a co-production of

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount (Network) Television, as a re ...

, and Wass-Stein Productions. It was described as being about "a quirky homicide detective on the mean streets of Manhattan who also is a single mom to two kids in the suburbs on Long Island."

Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Davis made her acting debut in the satirical romantic comedy ''Toots ...

was the first to be cast in the pilot as 'Gloria'. She also served as co-executive producer. Next to join the pilot was

Matthew Lillard Matthew Lyn Lillard (born January 24, 1970) is an American actor. His film work includes Chip Sutphin in '' Serial Mom'' (1994), Emmanuel "Cereal Killer" Goldstein in '' Hackers'' (1995), Stu Macher in '' Scream'' (1996), Stevo in '' SLC Punk!'' ...

as Gloria's younger brother.

Rosie Perez Rosa Maria Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came at age 24 with her portrayal of Tina in the film '' Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's performance in '' Fear ...

, Ramon Rodriguez, and

Amy Farrington Amy Farrington (born September 20, 1966) is an American actress and model who is best known for her roles as Stacey Devers on ''The Michael Richards Show'' and Detective Lt. Piper Lynch in the CBS drama series '' S.W.A.T.''. Biography Farrin ...

were the last actors to be cast, with Perez playing 'Lorna', Gloria's partner on the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

, Rodriguez playing 'a smart flirty cop who works with Gloria and Lorna', and Farrington playing Gloria's neighbor. On May 10, 2008, it was announced that

had decided not to pick up the pilot to series. In July 2009, Lifetime announced it was redeveloping the pilot. In June 2010, the network placed a pilot order. Casting announcements began in November 2010, with

first to be cast. Walker portrays Gloria Sheppard, a Los Angeles Police Department homicide detective who is juggling her demanding personal and professional lives while raising two children. Next to join the series was

and Chris Payne Gilbert, with Campbell-Martin playing Michelle Dulcett, Gloria's smart and vivacious partner, and Gilbert playing Davey Sheppard, Gloria's younger brother, a recovering alcoholic, with whom she shares the house the two co-own. Last to be cast was

playing Lieutenant Felix Valdez, Gloria's boss. The network green lighted the series on February 7, 2011, with an order of 13 hour-long episodes. The series is a co-production between

and Wass-Stein Productions. On May 3, 2011, during the network's 2011–2012 upfronts presentation, Lifetime announced that ''Exit 19'' had been retitled ''The Protector'' and would debut in the summer of 2011. On September 8, 2011, Lifetime announced it would not renew the series for a second season. The series finale aired on September 19, 2011.

Episodes

International broadcasting

Reception

Critical reception

''The Protector'' has received mixed to average reviews, earning a score of 53 on

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

. The New York ''Daily News'' said of the series: "Where ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

'' can get soapy at times, it also starts with a premise that sets it apart. ''The Protector'' doesn't start with that advantage." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' gave a mixed review: "Ms. Walker is an appealing actress with a strong presence, but in the pilot, at least, her character isn't as well formed or well written as other tough-talking television dames." The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' gave the pilot a positive review:

''The Protector'' is fairly routine plot-wise but the breezy tone—conveyed through upbeat music and snappy dialogue—and strong, collegial performances make this series a welcome summer diversion.

Ratings

The pilot episode premiered with 1.90 million total viewers, scoring 0.9 million viewers in the 18–49 demographic.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Protector (American TV series), The 2011 American television series debuts 2011 American television series endings 2010s American crime drama television series 2010s American police procedural television series American English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Lifetime (TV channel) television dramas Television series by ABC Studios Television shows set in Los Angeles American detective television series