“The Sopranos” and “Nurse Jackie” star Edie Falco is back on TV in the new CBS drama “Tommy,” playing Abigail “Tommy” Thomas, a former high-ranking NYPD officer who becomes the first female chief of police for Los Angeles. Tommy’s gender isn’t the only thing that separates her from traditional police chiefs— she’s kind, caring, interested in community building and working to change the stigma associated with policing. But can she?
Falco stopped by “Salon Talks” to discuss the role with me and why she wanted to try her hand at playing a character who might be intrinsically good. “It just feels like a time when we might need to believe in somebody,” Falco said.
While the show doesn’t aim to be political, it is airing on the heels of America’s peak frustration with police. Black people from predominately black cities and neighborhoods like myself have been talking about the racism within police departments for years. A string of police killings, sparked by Eric Garner’s and Michael Brown’s deaths in 2014, finally made the world pay attention.
Falco, who clearly understands these issues, has the difficult task of highlighting the good and bad, on a human level, around our national conversation on policing. “Tommy” shows the push and pull between not selling the “all cops are heroes” narrative and highlighting situations where cops are good and help people.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Salon