Preview: Rush Hour (CBS) - Rush over to your TV for this one

Rush Hour

Based on the film franchise of the same name, Rush Hour is a police dramedy following a maverick detective and a by-the-book detective who are forced to work together. By-the-book detective Lee (Jon Foo, Vikingdom) comes to L.A. from Hong Kong to avenge his sister’s death, where he is partnered with wisecrack detective Carter (Justin Hires, 21 Jump Street) who likes to play by his own rules.

The pair are helped along by sergeant Diaz (Aimee Garcia, George Lopez), Carter’s former partner, and Gerald (Page Kennedy, Weeds), Carter’s cousin and low-level offender. Although Lee and Carter are a headbutting pair, they find they are also an excellent team as they complete each other’s weaknesses.

Usually I’m skeptical about film adaptations, because the elements that make a movie funny or moving or interesting are not suited for series. That skepticism is still there in the back of my mind, but at the same time the trailer for Rush Hour leaves me optimistic. Of course, the movies were very successful (there’s a reason there’s three of them after all!), not in the least because of the lead roles portrayed by Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. However, for now it seems CBS has found worthy replacements in Foo and Hires, so I’m very curious to see how this will work out.

Rush Hour is scheduled against Shades Of Blue and The Catch. Although not exactly the same, the series are likely to be quite the competition. The edge Rush Hour has is its affiliation with the movie franchise, and the focus on humor that the other two series don’t have. All in all, the series will have to battle some stiff competition.

Rush Hour airs on Thursdays at 10/9c on CBS.