The Glades is a show set in South Florida and follows Jim Longworth a Chicago cop who as the intro tells us, has moved to Palm Glades to catch some sun and play some golf, though it hasn’t seemed to work out that way.
Starring Australian actor Matt Passmore in the lead role, his character has a refreshingly laid back approach to his police work which disarms people whilst slowly unraveling the case at hand. The show is created by Clifton Campbell who has found success writing for television and was also co- executive producer on the first season of White Collar.
In the first episode Jim explains how he was shot in the butt by his former Chicago captain who suspected him of sleeping with his wife, though we see that he’s anything but dishonest, he just knows how to charm the pants of some folks whilst annoying the heck out of others. His style of police work is a throwback of sorts to the James Garner character in the Rockford Files who when he knew he was onto something, would just let the case take it’s course and follow the threads to where they might lead.
In the first episode we’re introduced to his investigative style with a story that presents us with a headless corpse found floating in the river that seems to have been partially eaten by the gators. This all sounds off putting but we see very little gore unlike the over the top close-ups that CSI thrust upon viewers who might be in the middle of dinner, instead the show is all about the living and how Passmore’s character unravels the web of deception around him.
Carlos Gómez and Matt Passmore
His partner Sanchez, played by Carlos Gómez is also the medical examiner and they have a strange but often humorous understanding of one another and during investigations their unique take on the cases often complement and contrast their personalities.
Callie Cargill played by Kiele Sanchez
He begins somewhat of a relationship with a nurse played by Kiele Sanchez whom he meets in the hospital after a gator almost snaps his hand off whilst trying to recover evidence. Now if she looks familiar then you might remember her as the intriguing character of Nikki Fernandez who showed up in the third season of Lost in a memorable story arc. Here as Callie Cargill her character has a young son and is still married to the father who is currently in prison for armed robbery, whom we see from time to time calling from jail. In most episodes she offers Jim an interesting opinion about certain events which help him to work through some of the finer points of the case, and her intuition plays a valuable part.
The Glades is a highly enjoyable hour of TV that utilizes the picturesque location giving a unique look at the Florida region as well as having intriguing stories where the usual suspect ends up being the red herring.
The Glades is currently airing on the A&E Network.
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