''Shots Fired'' is an American ten-part

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

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

that aired on Fox from March 22 to May 24, 2017. The miniseries depicts a DOJ investigation into a racially-charged police shooting of an unarmed teenager, which leads to the DOJ officials uncovering a potential conspiracy involving the death of another teenager.

Premise

Experienced and temperamental investigator Ashe Akino and ambitious, young prosecutor Preston Terry are sent to Gate Station,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

by the DOJ when Jesse Carr, an unarmed Caucasian teenager, is shot during a traffic stop by Joshua Beck, an African-American sheriff's deputy. As they study the shooting, Ashe and Preston learn about the unsolved death of African-American teenager Joey Campbell and begin to unravel a conspiracy.

Cast

Main cast

* Sanaa Lathan as Ashe Akino, a DOJ investigator and veteran law enforcement officer partnered with Preston * Stephan James as Preston Terry, a DOJ special prosecutor assigned to investigate Jesse's death with Ashe * Stephen Moyer as Calvert Breeland, a lieutenant in the Gate Station Sheriff's Office *

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''.Tristan Wilds as Joshua Beck, the Gate Station Sheriff's deputy responsible for shooting Jesse * Aisha Hinds as Janae James, a pastor of a church in Gate Station. * DeWanda Wise as Shameeka Campbell, the mother of Joey and Shawn. *

Clare-Hope Ashitey Clare-Hope Ashitey (born 12 February 1987) is a British actress. She attended the Centre Stage School of Performing Arts, Southgate, London, Southgate while being educated at The Latymer School, in the Edmonton, London, Edmonton area of London, ...

as Kerry Beck, Joshua's wife * Conor Leslie as Sarah Ellis, the governor's aide to Eamons *

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...

as Arlen Cox, a real estate developer and campaign donor of Eamons

Recurring

* Helen Hunt as Patricia Eamons, the

governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

* Jill Hennessy as Alicia Carr, Jesse's mother * Beau Knapp as Caleb Brooks, a Gate Station Sheriff's deputy and friend of Joshua * Kylen Davis as Shawn Campbell, the younger son of Shameeka Campbell * Edwina Findley as Shirlane, a local reporter * Marqus Clae as Cory, a witness to Joey's shooting * John Beasley as Mr. Dabney, the owner of a local restaurant * Mike Pniewski as Julian Carroll, Ashe's and Preston's DOJ superior * Laila Lockhart Kraner as Kai Cano, Ashe's daughter * Angel Bonanni as Javier Cano, Ashe's former DEA partner and estranged husband * Jacob Leinbach as Jesse Carr, a

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

student shot by Joshua * Brett Cooper as Tess Breeland, Breeland's daughter * Yohance Myles as Leon Grant, Cory's father * Markice Moore as Lyndon, a mechanic on

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

* David Shae as the handler, a mysterious individual attempting to cover-up Joey's shooting

Guest

* Shamier Anderson as Maceo Terry, a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

and Preston's brother * Antonique Smith as Kiana, a witness to Joey's shooting * Lorraine Toussaint as Carole Moore, Kerry's mother * Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Joey Campbell, the deceased older son of Shameeka Campbell * Wes McGee as Derkin, a police sergeant formerly with the Gate Station Sheriff's Office * Britt Rentschler as Pierce, a DOJ attorney assigned to replace Preston * Javon Johnson as Davies, a DOJ investigator assigned to replace Ashe * J. Alphonse Nicholson as Junior, Joshua's cousin * Don A. King as Dr. Koppel, a campaign donor of Eamons * Vincent J. Hooper as Ivory Boyd, the residential assistant in Joey's residential hall * Jenna Kanell as Cara, Jesse's girlfriend * Dennis Haysbert as Mr. Terry, Preston's father

Production

Development

On December 10, 2015, Fox announced that ''Shots Fired'' was picked up to series status.

Gina Prince-Bythewood Gina Maria Prince-Bythewood (born June 10, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. She began her career as a writer for multiple television shows in the 1990s, including the anthology series ''CBS Schoolbreak Special'', for which she ...

and Reggie Rock Bythewood created the series as a drama that aimed to reflect the racial tensions and police shooting incidents that have spurred demonstrations and outrage across the United States. Gina and Reggie will serve as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

s along with Francie Calfo and

Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated for four Acad ...

Filming

In March 2016, crews were filming in

Kannapolis, North Carolina Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Cabarrus and Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan Counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord, North Carolina, Concord and northeast of Charlotte, North Carolina, ...

. They were expected to continue work in the area through July. Filming took place in Gastonia and

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

in April 2016. The Rowan County courthouse became the Gate County Courthouse, and a real WJZY news van appeared in a scene. Other scenes were filmed in Concord, Mooresville and Charlotte. In May, James B. Duke Memorial Library at Johnson C. Smith University played the role of the library at

Casting

It was announced in December 2015 that Sanaa Lathan was cast as Ashe Akino. In February 2016, DeWanda Wise was cast as Shameeka Campbell and Conor Leslie was cast as Sarah Ellis. In March 2016, Stephan James was cast as Preston Terry; Tristan Wilds and Aisha Hinds were cast as Officer Belk (Beck) and Pastor Janae James, respectively; Helen Hunt,

, and Stephen Moyer were cast as Patricia Eamons, Arlen Cox, and Officer Breeland, respectively;

Will Patton William Rankin Patton (born June 14, 1954) is an American actor. He starred as Colonel Dan Weaver in the TNT science fiction series '' Falling Skies''.Jill Hennessy was cast as Alicia Carr; and

was cast as Kerry Beck.

Episodes

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

, ''Shots Fired'' holds an approval rating of 84% based on 43 reviews. The site's critical consensus states, "''Shots Fired'' tackles tough topics commendably -- and remains consistently compelling despite an occasionally meandering plot.

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 ...

gives the miniseries a score of 66 out of 100 based on 27 critics. James Poniewozik of

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 ...

called the show "curious at first glance" but "complex". He praised the acting, especially that of Sanaa Lathan, the program's multilayered storylines, and compared it to the ABC's '' American Crime'' and

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's ''

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''. However, Poniewozik also criticized the show's handling of the political sideplots, and said "a lot of the exposition is ham-handed". Writing for

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

, Daniel Fienberg also praised Lathan's acting, but said the show offered "clunky mystery plotting". He went on to say "sometimes ''Shots Fired'' articulates its points smartly and with pragmatism, but other times you're stuck with characters saying things like "Liberals can be racist, too", as if that weren't already being illustrated everywhere. Perhaps there isn't as much hand-holding as in ABC's ''American Crime'', but it's also significantly less ideologically ambitious than John Ridley's drama, which should come with footnotes." He also mocked the show's methods of stretching the plot across 10 episodes, However, he did conclude that "there is much to admire here".

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

mentioned the stellar directing crew and said the show features "interesting characters (especially women)". However, they said the story could've been "told more sensibly and efficiently". They praised the plot but overall had mixed impressions of the show overall. Chris Cabin of

Collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator that brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Compared to other particle accelerators in which the moving particles collide with a stationary matter target, collid ...

gave ''Shots Fired'' two out of five and called the show "timely", adding that it's "ultimately more melodrama than crime story or political polemic", but also argued that the show spends more time on the investigators' lives than the actual case. Ultimately, Cabin found the miniseries ambitious, but failed to capitalize.

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

reviewer Jesse Schedeen gave the pilot a 6.7, or "Okay", rating and called the show's handling of the shooting "both callous and pointless". Schedeen wrote that the miniseries strays from the social conflict at hand to the mysteries of the deaths of the two young teens, and additionally the dialogue "becomes downright hamfisted", but praised the "strong cast". Newsday gave the show a "B" rating, calling it "ambitious" and "at times a bit exhausting", but nevertheless had mostly praise for the miniseries. Emily VanDerWerff of '' Vox'' gave ''Shots Fired'' three out of five, calling it "generally excellent", and said "''Shots ired' aims to be ''American Crime'' or ''The Wire''. It doesn't get there. The new limited series is a handsomely directed, nicely acted, overly complex mess." Praised were the characters and the premise, while also noting that "the show waters down interesting ideas at every turn...by the time I reached ''Shots Fireds 500th scene with too-loud music meant to tell me how to feel about what was happening, I wanted to be watching anything else". The

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the large ...

said the miniseries has ambitions to be "something big...like ABC's ''American Crime'' or FX's '' American Crime Story''...in practice, it plays more like ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

, Junior Grade''". The romantic plot lines were criticized, saying "major and minor characters rapidly fall into bed, more to get some sex into the story than anything to do with the characters or the case at hand". Praise was directed towards its premise and acting, but its dialogue was negatively received, concluding that "''Shots Fired'' lumbers as an issue drama". Ben Travers of IndieWire gave the show a positive review, calling ''Shots Fired'' "messy but ambitious", with comparisons to ''American Crime'' and ''American Crime Story'', "engaging", and "(mostly) well-executed", adding that the miniseries "stands out for the right reasons". Travers praised Lathan's performance as Ashe Akino, but added that her subplots push the show "into extreme melodrama, and make for a jarring change of pace". While criticizing the potential romantic subplots for Preston Terry and Ashe and stating "a few characters are reduced to representatives", Travers praised the miniseries' plot and its ability to "skirt... rickyquestions". He gave the show a "B−" grade. Hungry Watching gave the show a "C+" grade and called the show "timely and compelling", but also said it has a "lack of excitement that leaves me with no real compulsion to keep watching". Vulture praised the show's ambition and "solid" cast, saying "Lathan etsthe sort of lead role her charisma has long demanded". Further praise was made towards her character's unpredictability and the miniseries' musical choices for the soundtrack, while also finding ''Shots Fired'' to become "less daring and more predictable when it goes into procedural mode". Deadline reviewer Dominic Patten said the miniseries "stays too close for comfort" and "doesn't ultimately take off much beyond the bounds of Big 4 procedurals". Patten also called the show "good and smart", but lamented that it didn't take more risks. Danette Chazes of the AV/TV Club called ''Shots Fired'' "some of the most ambitious event television ever" that "cram a lotinto a limited series" and praised the "compelling story".

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, tt5519456, Shots Fired 2010s American drama television series 2017 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings American English-language television shows Serial drama television series Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows filmed in North Carolina Television shows set in North Carolina Television series by Imagine Entertainment Fox Broadcasting Company television dramas