Critic Reviews

A series that’s just flat-out fun, albeit flawed.

Deputy is a melange of Western and cop show cliches in a novel-enough package, thanks to creators Will Beall, who writes, and David Ayer, who directs the pilot.

Deputy may overstep the bounds of reality with how far the show lets Hollister push his new powerful position, but I admire its commitment.

The script very occasionally crackles when not making a fool of itself with lines like, “Badge or no badge, I’ll always come after scum like you.” Most of the better lines go to Bishop when confronting Hollister about his overall comportment. Deputy otherwise is never too far from an action scene replete with automatic weapons fire.

All three entries [episodes] are as predictable as they are fine with being predictable. “Deputy” doesn’t give off so much as a whiff that it wants to be more than a by-the-book, case-of-the-week cop drama. ... That being said, all that formula makes for a solid foundation.

Putting aside Deputy's peculiar politics and red-meat aesthetic, though, it has undeniable appeal. The intricately staged shootouts and car chases are gleefully frequent, the dialogue crackling.

A show with some muddled politics and thin characterizations. Dorff is at the center keeping it entertaining, and the ridiculousness in some of the plotting to start the series is almost admirable, but this is an inconsistent show in every way.

In between firefights and car crashes, the clichés pile up quicker than dead bodies.

Surely there has been a show more reliant on cliché than “Deputy,” Fox’s new cop drama. But none springs to mind. ... In short, “Deputy’s” politics may come from a past decade, but its writing seems to come from another century.

It's silly, occasionally action-packed, rarely makes any sense at all and it's a little bit less reactionary than I feared.