So why Beach Cop Detectives?
Six years ago, FX presented the world with a series set in Ocean Beach, California featuring a pair of wisecracking unlicensed private detectives. They named it ‘Terriers’ and promoted it with a dog, and the ratings were… unkind.
While many people had no idea what the show was, I knew that it was from Shawn Ryan, who had created one of my favorite TV shows in ‘The Shield’, and Ted Griffin, who had written one of my favorite movies in ‘Ocean’s 11’. I had seen enough clips to know that it was not about dog grooming, but in fact looked like a witty series about private detectives.
I was hooked after the first episode, but it went under a lot of people’s radar, and didn’t seem to grab enough attention despite a good deal of critical acclaim. And so I watched, heart sinking, as the ratings sunk lower on every episode. I did my part, talking it up on The TV Dudes, and I knew that FX President John Landgraf was a fan, and I held out hope that we’d get at least another season even though the ratings were bad, and the writing was on the wall.
It was not to be, and so ‘Terriers’ became, to me, another brilliant-but-canceled, perfect one season show.
Since then, ‘Terriers’ has not had a DVD release. It did get put on Netflix, which caused me to do a happy dance, which you can witness here.
In that time, I’ve rewatched it regularly, and talked about it even more regularly on The TV Dudes.
In 2015, there was a confluence of events. My friend, Mike Moody, was doing a single show podcast for ‘Mr. Robot’, called Mr. Robot, Oh, and Joshua Malina and Hrishikesh Hirway were doing a podcast called West Wing Weekly. The ATX TV Festival announced a ‘Terriers’ reunion panel, with Ted, Shawn, Donal Logue and more in attendance. And I determined that I would do my best to interview the folks who made Terriers, and ask if they’d be interested in participating if I were to do a ‘Terriers’ podcast.
I was going to do the podcast one way or the other, but when I told Ted Griffin about the project, he was kind enough to not only agree to an interview but help me reach out to other folks in the cast and crew. And so, with a name grabbed from a comment made at the ATX TV Festival panel, and the help of my tireless producer Grant Davis, I got to work making ‘Beach Cop Detectives: A Terriers podcast’.
This has been a labor of love, and I’ve spent a lot of time watching and rewatching episodes, taking notes, recruiting cohosts, editing and interviewing, all in the name of presenting something that I hope will serve three purposes.
One: I hope that those of you who loved ‘Terriers’ already will enjoy fans discussing and analyzing the show, and hours of original interviews with the people who made the show.
Two: I hope that those who aren’t already familiar with the show will see that someone is dedicated enough to put this much time and effort into it, and give it a look, because I think after just one episode, you’ll be hooked.
Three: my fondest wish is that we’ll be able to signal loud and clear to anyone listening that there’s an audience for more ‘Terriers’, whether it’s a follow-up miniseries, movie, novels or comic books, and maybe I’ll get to see more of this world and these characters that I love.
Thanks for checking us out! We’ll launch on Thursday, September 8th, six years to the day from when ‘Terriers’ first premiered on FX, and present weekly episodes, one each for every episode of the show. On most Mondays, we’ll present an original interview with one of the writers, directors, cast or other people involved with the show.
– Randy Lander