If you’re ready for a new cop drama, you’ll want to turn to Prime Video. On Call arrives on Thursday, Jan. 9, and it’s packed with a great cast and some intriguing storytelling. Troian Bellisario and Brandon Larracuente sat down with us to talk about their characters and the series.
Bellisario plays Traci Harmon, a veteran police officer who is struggling to find her place in the unit, especially with the new blood coming in. She has to train one of those youngsters, who happens to be Larracuente’s Alex Diaz. Alex is an eager new rookie, who is ready to prove that he is a good cop and able to keep the streets clean. However, he harbors a family secret that could land him in some trouble.
Troian Bellisario talks about balancing toughness and heart
I started off the interview talking to Bellisario about her character, who is strong and independent but is also full of heart. We see it in the way she trains her rookie, Diaz, and we see it in the way she works with the public.
It’s not often that we see toughness and heart go together, but Bellisario makes it work through Harmon. How did she go about combining these two elements of her character?
“I think what’s really wonderful about the character of Harmon is, yes, she is a strong independent woman, and I had to find ways to connect, in the script, to her heart that weren’t the traditional romantic things…Oftentimes strong women or women in general are sort of depicted as having heart by who they’re in love with or their relationship with a man, and I thought what was really wonderful is that you get to see this woman at work and you get to see her as a teacher, and you get to see her as a partner, and you get to see her as an officer who’s serving her community.”
It all came down to serving the community. That is where Harmon’s heart is, and we do get to see that in the very first episode. It’s such an important part of police work that is often overlooked in TV shows, because it doesn’t always look dramatic and intense.
Brandon Larracuente talks about a beautiful moment in On Call episode 1
There’s a moment in episode 1 that stands out for me to show us who Alex Diaz is. We see he’s trying to help a guy who is high as a kite, and he does it in a way that most rookies wouldn’t. Even Harmon can’t help but comment on this.
It’s rare that we get to see something like this on the screen. Sure, TV shows have tried with empathy, but Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf managed to capture it in one scene beautifully. What was it like for Larracuente being able to show this side of policing?
“I think what helps is that Diaz, at times, maybe not in that exact scenario, sees himself in other people. I think that’s one of the benefits he has as an officer is that he actually grew up in that community not that long ago…So in that scene, he might not see himself in the gentleman who’s across from him, but he sees somebody that he knows, maybe a family member, maybe a friend, and I think that that’s what allows him to have some empathy.”
Jumping straight into the action in On Call
This is a series where there isn’t that much time to breathe. Once we start with the action, we are in it for the long haul. This is great for us, but what about the cast? What was it like for Bellisario and Larracuente?
Larracuente jumped in at first with an answer to this, sharing that it seemed to help get into the character with everything just happening right away.
“You try to plan and prepare as much as possible as an actor. You get to set, you try to maybe forget those things. But this show, everything moved so quickly, because the casting process moved so quickly, we didn’t have time to overthink. We had to just rely on natural instincts and trust, not only each other, but also in the people who were leading us.”
Bellisario agreed with everything that her co-star shared, and went on to share a story about going home from filming one night. While it was tiring and hard as an actor, it placed them right into the shoes of their characters, and that became a benefit within the series.
“I think I was driving somewhere and it must have been four in the morning and there was an accident, and I saw an police officer responding to the scene, and I was like, “It’s four in the morning. I wonder if they’re just starting their shift or if they’re getting off of their shift, and they’re out here in the cold.” That’s the job, so it was really helped to just be immersed in it as much as possible.”
Take a look at the full interview with Troian Bellisario and Brandon Larracuente below, and don’t forget to tune into On Call:
On Call drops in full on Thursday, Jan. 9 on Prime Video.
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