Dick Wolf’s expansive scripted universe is expanding again, this time to streaming.
Today, Prime Video unveiled first-look images from On Call, a thrilling new half-hour drama series from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television.
Co-created by Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf, On Call is Wolf Entertainment’s first scripted streaming series and will premiere with all eight episodes on January 9, 2025, exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
On Call is an adrenalized and visceral police drama that follows a rookie and veteran officer duo as they go on patrol in Long Beach, California.
The innovative series incorporates a mixture of bodycam, dashcam, and cellphone footage to create a cinema verité effect. It explores the morality of protecting and serving a community.
The series stars Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars) as hard-charging but protective veteran officer Traci Harmon, who struggles to find her place in the department while training the next generation of officers.
Brandon Larracuente (The Good Doctor) stars as Alex Diaz, an ambitious rookie who grapples with maintaining his optimistic outlook as he realizes the challenges he’ll face in today’s climate.
The additional cast includes Eriq La Salle (ER, Logan) as Sergeant Lasman, who also serves as an executive producer on the series and directed multiple episodes; Lori Loughlin (When Calls the Heart) as Lieutenant Bishop; and Rich Ting as Sergeant Koyama (Tulsa King).
The most shocking thing about this news (other than seeing Loughlin front and center in the casting notice) is that it’s taken this long for the Wolf Universe to take an original run at scripted drama on streaming.
The entire universe of Law & Order, One Chicago, and the FBI franchise have been keeping various streamers alive for years, proving their might.
We’ve only just scratched the surface of procedural dramas on streaming.
Before On Call, Max announced the medical drama The Pitt, from John Wells and starring Noah Wyle.
Since streamers have been making oodles of cash off of these long-running shows, we fully expect their ilk to rise dramatically.
The only thing that may hold them back from similar success is the timing. People love the idea of following a group of people weekly for 20+ weeks at a time.
That’s how you build a following — by allowing your audience to slowly grow so attached to characters that they’ll go to the ends of the internet to see more of them.
Whether a shorter production, shorter episode time, and long time between seasons achieves the same level of success remains to be seen.
This critic does not believe it’s possible, but this is one argument I’m willing to lose.
Dick Wolf (Law & Order, Chicago, FBI-branded series), Tim Walsh (Chicago P.D., Hightown, Night Stalker), Elliot Wolf (Dark Woods, Hunted), Eriq LaSalle (former EP/Director Chicago P.D.), and Peter Jankowski are executive producers.
The series is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studios Group and Amazon MGM Studios in association with Wolf Entertainment.
Are you ready for Dick Wolf to take over streaming? Do you think a shorter show with a short run can build the kind of audience you get on a broadcast service?
Shoot us a comment below with your thoughts!
