On October 14, 2011, TNT canceled the series of Memphis Beat after two seasons.[1]
Overview
The show follows Dwight Hendricks (Jason Lee), a police detective assigned to the General Assignment division of the MPD, who loves his mother, the blues, his city, and Elvis Presley and calls himself "the keeper of Memphis". His passionate devotion to his hometown is offset by his relaxed approach to his job, an attitude that frustrates by-the-book Lt. Tanya Rice (Alfre Woodard), his new boss.
Jason Lee said he was drawn to the show because the concept was original and the protagonist was fun to play. Lee said, "The whole package was unique and once I came to found the character and the material and the scenarios and his relationships and he's such a great guy and is so multi-layered and cares such a great deal for his city and his family and the people that he's protecting." Lee listened to hundreds of Presley songs in preparation for the role, and said his respect for the artist grew as a result.[2] The vocals for Lee's character are sung by Mark Arnell.[3]
The title Delta Blues was originally considered, but it was eventually changed to Memphis Beat.[4] The show was created by married couple Joshua Harto and Liz W. Garcia, with actor George Clooney and his production partner writer/actor/director Grant Heslov serving as executive producers. Harto and Garcia wrote the first two episodes of the series.[5] Liz Garcia said of the show, "Broadcast TV is being influenced by cable in so many ways in terms of reinventing genres and taking chances, and this is part of it. ... The forefront of creativity is on cable TV."[6]
Despite the show's setting, the first season was primarily filmed in Laplace, LA and New Orleans, LA with only some key locations and exteriors filmed in Memphis.[7] This has largely been attributed to the better tax incentives by filming in a state other than Tennessee.
On September 16, 2010, TNT announced that Memphis Beat was renewed for a second season, the first episode of which was broadcast June 14, 2011.
On October 17, 2011, TNT decided not to pick up a third season of Memphis Beat.
Detective Dwight Hendricks investigates the abuse of an elderly woman who is also a legendary Memphis disc jockey known as the "First Lady of the Airwaves". But his new boss, Lt. Tanya Rice, starts cramping his investigative style when she brings a den mother approach to her job. Meanwhile, Dwight's mother starts dating her new neighbor.
Dwight and Whitehead search for a missing truck driver, when his son tells his classmates he was kidnapped. Meanwhile, Dwight has to try to get used to his mother dating a guy he doesn't trust and his ex-wife, Alex, keeps sending him mixed signals.
A BBQ king is almost killed which makes all the members of his inner circle suspects. And to find the killer, Officer Sutton must go undercover as a ladies man. Meanwhile, Lt Rice must deal with her own problems when her son has a run in with the law.
A lead singer of a country western family and the group's manager dies suddenly. The manager's death is ruled as a suicide but Dwight suspect there might have been foul play when the family's problems come to light and an obsessed fan begins to act stranger than normal.
Dwight tries to find put who would have benefited more from a vicious assault on a local boxer or lost more from his upcoming retirement. Meanwhile, Sutton tries to make up for a lost opportunity from his past.
A plane safely lands with absolutely nobody onboard, so Hendrick decides to investigate it, which leads to a failed lottery winning inventor who could have had something to do with it.
Dwight gets involved in a hostage situation and decides to become a second hostage to aid the situation and while he tries to defuse the situation he uncovers things from the captors past that goes way back to a cold case that has been unsolved for decades. Meanwhile, Lt. Rice find herself in trouble involving her ex-husband.
Dwight and the rest of the squad search for a missing city councilman who disappeared on his wedding day. While his disappearance threatens to expose the underbelly of Memphis politics.
Dwight is haunted by an unsolved murder from 2007 while dealing with an amnesiac shooting victim in 2010. Meanwhile, Lt. Rice decides it might be time to change her career. Abe Benrubi makes his final appearance as Sgt. Lightfoot plus Memphis Mafia member Jerry Schilling makes a cameo appearance.[7]
Dwight teams up with an Internal Affairs detective (Beau Garrett) to investigate the murder of a police officer who may have had a connection to a gun smuggling ring.
Dwight and Whitehead attempt to catch some infamous burglars who attempt to beat the system by claiming statute of limitations on their previous crimes. They receive reluctant help from a pesky insurance agent (Thomas Lennon) with extensive knowledge of the initial robberies.
Dwight and Whitehead investigate a Missing Persons case involving a nun; Sutton finds an abandoned baby in his car that turns out to have a connection to the case.
Dwight and Paula-Ann travel to New Orleans to speak at the early-release hearing for Dwight's father's killer (who is dying of cancer). Meanwhile, Whitehead and Lt. Rice investigate the burning of a beloved and historic Memphis movie theater.
Dwight re-encounters three old friends: one is arrested in a houseboat robbery case, another is an old flame, and the third is a band member from his high school days, with whom he performs.
Dwight and Whitehead investigate when the body of a man known for helping at risk children goes missing during his funeral, and discover that the man might not have been the saint he seemed to be.
Dwight looks into the claims of a man who attacked his bank's employees, when the man accuses the bank of stealing his identity and draining his account. The investigation leads to a large web of identity theft and fraud committed by a small team of con-artists.
The shooting of a girl in the business district of Memphis uncovers a long-standing feud between two powerful families, which the squad tries to quell while working the case before anyone else gets hurt.
Reception
Critical reception
On Metacritic season 1 has a score of 56% based on 18 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[29] On Rotten Tomatoes season 1 has an approval rating of 38% based on reviews from 24 critics.[30]The New York Times said of the pilot episode "This series is to Memphis what the HBO series 'Treme' is to New Orleans and 'Justified' on FX is to Harlan County in Kentucky—timeless indigenous music is set against the exoticism of temporal subcultures".[31] The New York Daily News gave another positive review saying that "TNT's new 'Memphis Beat' has a great soundtrack and a pretty good cop drama in between".[32]The Hollywood Reporter also gave the pilot a positive review:
But even as the cop genre seems beyond saturation, along comes TNT's Memphis Beat, a series with a fresh character in a fresh environment with a fresh look and sound that proves, against all odds, that good actors and agile execution trump format every time.[33]
