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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, March 16, 2018 4 By k.A. Taylor TV Media P olice procedural dramas are a staple of North American television. Just mentioning the term, or the words "Law and Order," im- mediately transports you to the world of whodunnit (and that catchy theme song). Ob- sessed and fascinated as we are by the motives behind the deadliest of crimes, the suc- cess of this kind of series may seem like a given, but the odds of a show being a hit greatly increase when it includes just the right kind of twist. On Sun- day, March 18, CBS introduces the world to a clever, subver- sive police procedural, when "Instinct" premieres. Dylan Reinhart (Alan Cum- ming, "The Good Wife") is a quirky, highly intellectual pro- fessor and author, currently teaching abnormal behavior while trying to compose his next bestseller. Reinhart's in- ability to complete another stunning work of prose may be due to a lack of inspiration, as he's no longer able to draw on years of experience from his former life working as a CIA operative. That is, howev- er, until a visit from the NYPD to his classroom coaxes him back into the thrill of investi- gative work. Det. Lizzie Needham (Boja- na Novakovic, "Shameless") informs Reinhart that his book has been implicated in a mur- der. The book, a bestseller on criminal theory, is being brought to life by a killer, with clues left behind taken directly from the pages of Reinhart's work. Without any motives or additional leads, Needham reaches out to Reinhart for his help, knowing that his unique perspective as author — and former CIA operative — is her best hope at stopping this mysterious murderer. To better prepare himself for the chase, Reinhart calls on some old friends for assis- tance from his previous life, in- cluding Julian Cousins (Naveen Andrews, "Sense8"). Utilizing his pool of resources, Reinhart begins to create a profile of the killer, with a mix of fascination and determina- tion to see justice served. The popularity of police pro- cedurals started long before the invention of the television, with novels birthing this in- triguing subset of detective fiction. While the literary ori- gins find their roots in the mid- 1800s, the genre's popularity rapidly grew post-World War II, with many of the tales now unfolding on the big screen. Everything changed with "Dragnet," a radio play that leaped onto the small screen and then upgraded to the big screen. The show garnered a massive following and firmly established the demand for the police procedural drama. "Instinct" pulls from this transitory past, as the story began in the pages of a novel. The series is an adaptation of James Patterson's novel "Mur- der Games," with much of the series' content staying true to Patterson's own words. Fans of literary, small-screen and cinematic adaptations of po- lice procedurals are no strang- er to Patterson's works, as he is a dominant force in the genre. Notable early hits for the author on the big screen include 1997's "Kiss the Girls" and 2001's "Along Came a Spider," both of which are clear emblems of the police procedural genre. So, where lies the twist? While most would expect that to be found in the killer's re- veal — which it may very well be — what makes this latest genre series stand out above the rest is the lead character, Reinhart, who, like his novel counterpart, is a married gay man. This move is set to be the first broad-range broadcast of an hour-long series that fea- tures a queer lead character, a progressive and timely move by the network. CBS is no stranger to paving the way for cultural and sexual diversity, though, after the recent suc- cess of CBS All Access's "Star Trek: Discovery." This opportunity meant so much to Cumming, who ad- mitted to the Hollywood Re- porter that "it was one of the reasons [he] wanted to do the show." The Scottish-American actor is a longtime LGBTQ2+ activist and advocate, openly bisexual and compassionately proud. The chance to portray Reinhart's character, with all of his layers, was both "an in- credible thing and a terrible thing" to Cumming. Given the current political fervor in America — "a time in Ameri- ca where gay people are being persecuted ... our rights are being removed," as Cumming puts it — the actor saw that it was "all the more important to have a character with a healthy same-sex marriage on TV." While the politics are clearly present in the writing of "In- stinct," the series places greater emphasis on its execu- tion of sarcastic wit. Reinhart is a master of words and clev- er one-liners, always one to note the most culturally and momentarily significant things with an ample dose of obser- vational humor. This plays well alongside Needham's profes- sional drive, as she plays a strong, leading role in the in- vestigation, not afraid to smile but constant in her devotion to the case. The two follow the tradition of unlikely pairings, though it is plain to see they have a chemistry and make a formidable team. The new era of the police procedurals has arrived, am- ply stacked with drama, laughs and cultural relevance. With a stellar cast and intrigu- ing premise, it's easy to see why CBS was quick to trans- form this recent James Patter- son novel into a fully realized, hour-long series. Find out if Reinhart and Needham have the skills needed to uncover this literary-loving killer when "Instinct" premieres Sunday, March 18, on CBS. coverstory Naveen Andrews stars in "Instinct" The write wit: remixing police procedurals with 'Instinct' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: The new movie "15:17 to Paris," directed by Clint Eastwood, uses the actual heroes in the lead roles. Has there ever been another film with real people recreating their real live events? A: There have been a few, actually. The most famous example is 1955's "To Hell and Back," the true story of decorated war hero Audie Murphy, in which Murphy stars as himself. The movie was a huge hit, and Murphy translated that opportunity into sustained film stardom. The extent to which either will be true of Eastwood's new movie, however, remains to be seen. "15:17 to Paris" (2018) features three heroes — Spen- cer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos — recreat- ing their moment of heroism and their lives leading up to it. The first known example of this type of filmmaking did the opposite, time-wise: 1946's "The Best Years of Our Lives" featured real-life double-amputee Harold Russell, who lost both of his arms in an accident during the war, playing a version of himself (though the name was changed to Homer Parrish), dramatizing the challenges of reintegrating into society after losing limbs. There's also a different kind of hero who makes up a sort of sub-genre within these films: the sports hero. Jack- ie Robinson and Muhammad Ali both played themselves in their own biopics, "The Jackie Robinson Story" (1950) and "The Greatest" (1977), respectively. On that note, the Rocky movies are a rich mine for this sort of thing: Producer/writer/creator/star Sylvester Stal- lone frequently casts real professional boxers for acting parts in the film series. The most recent entry, "Creed" (2015), featured real fighters Andre Ward and Tony Bellew, as well as real-life cornermen/trainers Ricardo "Padman" McGill and Jacob "Stitch" Duran. Q: Where does the phrase "in the limelight" come from? A: As is so often the case with showbiz terminology, this one comes from the pre-film theater days. The first theatrical spotlights were made from cylinders containing calcium oxide, also known as lime. Burning calcium oxide produces a bright white light, and placing that controlled fire in a cylinder allowed early AV nerds to target it to a particular spot on the stage. Stages were being lit from below at this point — by the "footlights," another term that's made it into everyday language — providing an even light across the whole stage, but these lime lights were able to direct focused lighting on one particular spot — generally on the most important person in the scene. Thus, to be "in the lime- light" was to be the focus of everyone's attention, which is how we use the phrase today. Despite the staying power of the term, lime lights themselves actually had a relatively brief life in showbiz. First employed in the theater in 1837, they had already fallen out of favor by the late 1800s, replaced by less la- bor-intensive electric spotlights. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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