Coming soon to a TV near you, Rashida Jones stars as Angie Tribeca, a loner cop, in what could be the weirdest parody of crime procedurals ever. TBS announced Season 1 of Angie Tribeca premieres Sunday, January 17, and the entire season will air five times, commercial free over the course of a continuous 25 hour period. I know that sounds crazy, but it actually gets crazier. After the epic marathon of Season 1, Season 2 of Angie Tribeca will premiere on January 25, airing one episode per week. All this means there is going to be a lot of Jones on TV soon and that is excellent news.
So far, Jones' TV roles have been memorable best friend parts like the beautiful tropical fish that was Ann Perkins on Parks & Recreation and Jim's girlfriend Karen Filippelli on The Office. In Angie Tribeca, she finally gets to stand in the spotlight and I have a feeling she is going to make this bonkers project soar. The trailer for Angie Tribeca is crammed full of gritty crime drama tropes — you know the usual stuff: partner is personally involved in the case, undercover work, someone saying "this isn't a game," and the requisite dog chewing bubblegum scene.
As I mentioned before, this show is going to be strange, but in a good way. Here is what we know so far: Jones will be playing Angie, a by the books detective who is part of the Los Angeles Police Department's Really Heinous Crimes Unit (RHCU). At the start of the series she will be partnered with J. Geils, a man with a mysterious past. Their team is rounded out by Detective Danny Tanner (no relation to Bob Saget), Tanner's canine sidekick Hoffman, medical examiner Dr. Monica Scholls, and Justified's Jere Burns the perpetually angry Captain. At some point, Lisa Kudrow will guest star.
The best way to get a feel for the show's quirkiness is to examine the hilarious title cards within the trailer. They start innocently enough with the promise of a dog playing the organ. I'm assuming the dog is Hoffman, unless there are way more canine stars than the trailer is letting on.
Somewhere between all the dog related hijinks, there will be crime-solving, and those crimes are of the sexy and gritty variety. (Hey, it's in the press release.) What I do know is there is a potential case involving allegedly suicidal bakers. I smell sabotage — I know how competitive things get on Cupcake Wars.
In other news, TBS really wants you to marathon the first season, and I am beginning to think diving head first into this loopy world is the best way to fully experience Angie Tribeca. When a show goes for broke with meta comedy, it usually plays better as an immersive experience. TBS appears to be banking on this idea to get you invested in Angie's story right from the start.
If you can't tell just by looking at the title cards, the show's executive producers and creators are Steve and Nancy Carell. Jones and Carell worked together before, and they also have a Judd Apatow connection. The tongue in cheek humor certainly tracks with the Carell and Apatow styles. Angie Tribeca is not afraid to embrace its own silliness, and I cannot wait to see Jones in a role where she gets to use her straight woman persona to branch out into full on wackiness.
I am beyond psyched for Angie Tribeca. And don't worry: Even if you're not park-your-butt-in-front-of-the-TV for-25-hours excited, but the show is rolling out on multiple platforms, so that won't be a problem. Aside from the nonstop marathoning, Angie Tribeca will also be available on TBS On Demand, tbs.com, and the Watch TBS mobile app. Additionally, the show is premiering in multiple countries at once so everyone can fall in love with Angie together.
Two seasons of Angie Tribeca are on their way to forever change the way you look at gritty crime procedurals while also reminding you how much you love Jones. Prepare yourselves accordingly.
Images: TBS; TBS/YouTube (4)
