Once upon a crime, "The A-Team," "Starsky and Hutch" and "Magnum P.I." charmed viewers with a balance of action and laughs. Even "Hill Street Blues," the greatest cop drama of all time, had its fair share of black humor.
But somewhere along the line, most crime procedurals lost their sense of humor. The graphic violence that runs through franchises like "Law & Order" and "NCIS" are designed to make you grimace more than guffaw.
"The Rookie: Feds" is determined to offer some comic relief. In the series, debuting at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday on ABC, Simone Clark (Niecy Nash-Betts) is a former high school guidance counselor who becomes the FBI's oldest rookie. She also happens to be a Black woman, a demographic woefully underrepresented in the bureau. The setup is ripe for drama but the writers leave plenty of room for mischief.
