It’s always a huge risk for a big movie star to appear in a tv series that may fail due to low rating. If you remember “Extant” with Halle Berry, and “Agent X” with Sharon Stone, then you know that no one is safe. However, after seeing a few episodes of “Shades of Blue” with Jennifer Lopez, Ray Liotta and Lolita Davidovich, it appears that NBC’s “Shades of Blue” will have a long and prosperous life. Largely, it has to do with the strong plot that touches a painful subject matter for Americans: being good or bad cop.

In this series, you get a chance to meet all kind of cops: corrupted to the bone, selling drugs, and involved in other illegal activities. Jennifer Lopez’s Harley Santos’ is also not an angel. But gets the chance to clear her name, after she is forced to join the FBI’s anti-corruption task force, where the main target is her friend, Matt Wozniak (Ray Liotta). When the series begins, we find Harley desperate, leaving a video recording where she confesses that she had no idea what was putting herself through… Then, we are taken back, sometime in the past where things are not as bad as it is shown in the opening scene.

After reaching the fifth episode, Shades of Blue manages to develop a solid speed, giving the characters enough time to show their capability. We know that Liotta’s Matt, who is the leader of NYPD cops, is an extremely dangerous man and as corrupt as one can be. Perhaps, Michael Loman (Dayo Okeniyi) is the only one, whose hands are crystal clear. However, the incident that occurs in the beginning of the show makes him a prospective target for Matt and Co. to turn an honorable man into a corrupted cop.

Harley Santos has a dark secret she intends to keep from her daughter. However, the threat comes from a man who can reveal the truth and is about to make his way out of jail, where he was sent in with the help of Harley. Again, the series has its pulse, and so far, it has never slowed it down. The entire cast, including Ray Liotta and Jennifer Lopez, surprisingly fit in perfectly, creating a great match of two alternate versions of cops, we want or would not want to have around.  Jennifer Lopez as Harley looks confident and believable. Even though majority of people may watch SHADES OF BLUE largely due to the appearance of Lopez, she finds a way to partially disappear into her character, which is what makes this show so interesting and engaging.

In conclusion, NBC’s SHADES OF BLUE has a solid amount of everything: convincing plot, performance, and of course, no distractive scenes, which is what’s important when you have someone like Jennifer Lopez in it. This is why this show will become the winner of the season, as it has already got enough attention, not as a serious project but worth checking out.