‘Public Morals’ Premiere Recap: Crime Drama Breaths New Life Into Genre

Crime bosses, skewed loyalties and abrupt violence add a flavor to Public Morals unlike that of any other crime drama on TV (and there are many). Set in the 1960s, Edward Burns writes and stars as main character, Terry Muldoon who leads the Public Morals division. Burns elevates the show above other crime dramas by offering up his own family history: his father was a New York City cop during this time.There is a little piece of Burns in the story that he tells scene-by-scene through dynamic and often flawed characters. Burns understands the internal conflict experienced by the characters and the occupational hazards they face.

‘Public Morals’ Premiere Recap

What is the Public Morals division? Do they arrest people involved in prostitution rings, and organized crime syndicates? According to Muldoon, their job is to manage crime. “Think of us as landlords. If you want to do business, you have to pay the rent.” Muldoon and his team are more mediators and controllers than police officers or investigators, and that says a lot about a show that defines itself as the exception within a saturated market of shows pertaining to law enforcement.

The pilot episode, which aired Tuesday, made good on the network’s hard-hitting promises. Mob boss, Mr. O (Timothy Hutton) is confronted physically by his son in a pool hall. “Go home to your mother, have her teach you how to throw a punch,” he tells his son as he leaves. Muldoon struggles with his wife’s desire to move from the city and raise their kids differently than the detective would like. He is hard on his son and doesn’t let him forget his faults, while his wife Christine (Elizabeth Masucci) is more sympathetic. Charlie, (Michael Rapaport) becomes the protector of a young prostitute named Fortune, played by Katrina Bowden. When Charlie finds Fortune injured, he takes it upon himself to confront her pimp. Instead of arresting him, he simply roughs him up and robs him.

Brian Wiles plays Jimmy Shea. A newcomer to the Public Morals division who may or may not be a rat. He gets partnered up with a tough WWII veteran who doesn’t even care to shake his hand.

Sean O’Bannon, Mr. O’s loving son with the right hook, has a friend named Duffy that Hutton’s character is ready to be rid of. Duffy, played by Keith Nobbs has a tendency to make characters on both sides of the law more than a little nervous with his careless behavior.

Muldoon decides to mend fences with his son after an outburst he had over James’ antics in school. It’s a bedtime conversation filled with “A**holes” and “imbeciles” from the father and a solemn agreement from the son not to be any of those things under his roof.

In the final scene, Sean makes good on a promise to his father made at the beginning of the episode.

Public Morals is an exciting take on organized crime that seems to channel the work of Martin Scorsese with it’s sudden intensity, gritty dialogue and classic rock score. Many viewers may find the atmosphere reminiscent of the critically acclaimed Mad Men series. Hell’s Kitchen and other New York City neighborhoods are depicted in a vintage and believable way which makes you feel the life of the era in which it is set.

Pictured: Lyndon Smith as Diedre