Memphis Beat sidled its way onto TV looking, at first, as though it was just another cop show. Worse, a cop show with a “break-the-rules” rebel facing a “by the book” boss. Worse still, another cop show with an Elvis impersonator sight-gag.
But pretty soon, the charm of Jason Lee as Memphis Police detective Dwight Hendricks began to insinuate itself into the hour. Lee’s Dwight is a polite, humble man with a shrewd toughness — much like his hero, Elvis Presley, was in his prime. (And no, while Dwight may croon Elvis songs on this show, he was not an impersonator — the white-jumpsuited imposters were relegated to a few brief seconds.) As for his new boss, Lt. Tanya Rice, she was played by Alfre Woodard with a warmth and prickly humor that quickly transcended the usual stiff-grump role this kind of character usually offers in this genre.
Memphis Beat, created by Liz. W. Harto (Cold Case) and Joshua Harto (The Dark Knight) with George Clooney as one of the producers, is steeped in Memphis soul — even if it was filmed in New Orleans. The night’s main plot turned on the case of an abused old woman who turned out to be a legendary Memphis disc jockey. Dwight grew up listening to her, and spoke intensely of hearing Presley and sensing that “he was saying everything I was feeling just in the sound of his voice.” Any show that appreciates the wisdom that is imparted in the sound of a voice, and not necessarily the words that are being sung, is a show with its own soulfulness.
By the end, Lee and Woodard were playing off each other as though they’d been doing Memphis Beat for many months. And while the crime-solving was conducted in the hard-boiled manner in which all such cable shows must, there was an easy flow to the rhythm of the storytelling that made Memphis Beat stand out from the pack of TNT and USA crime shows. Not sure how well DJ Qualls, playing a kind of bumbling Barney Fife to Dwight’s Andy Griffith, is going to develop, though.
Anyway, I was charmed. And I made it through the entire show without thinking of My Name Is Earl. How about you?
LOVED IT!
Love, love, love the show!!!!!
As a Memphian, I liked it, never even thought of Earl….Could turn out to be a very good series….so, they will probable cancel it next week….
Ain’t it the truth?? It’s a good show and has the nerve to be intelligent, so on network tv it would be cancelled as we speak. Our saving grace (pun intended) is that TNT is not afraid of a quality series. TNT is also the home of The Closer. Loved Memphis Beat-great show and I stopped thinking about Earl (much as I miss him) within the first minute.
was pleasantly surprised as the story developed…. will definitely put this one on my “to watch” list
I found it absolutely charming. Truly.
LOVED IT! Was that Jason Lee really singing? Also loved the music in Elvis and Otis! Good stuff!
I was also curious whether it was Jason Lee signing. Hope Ken or someone can answer. Voice didn’t sound quite the same as his speaking voice, but that’s sometimes the case.
I’m pretty sure Jason Lee came into fame and recognition as a singer first of all. He plays the member of a band in the film Almost Famous. I love him and I love Alfre Woddard so hope for much success with this show. The first ep seemed a bit odd but I keep thinking about it…a good sign.
Jason Lee got his start as a professional skateboarder. He has stated in interviews that the vocals on Memphis Beat are done by someone else.
I love this show!! Sorry to disappoint, folks, but I read that Jason wanted to do his own singing, and even laid down some tracks, but it “wasn’t quite there. I’m sure some googling will reveal who is doing the singing. Still, Jason Lee has such a powerful screen presence and he’s such a great actor, I’d rather have him not singing then have some other actor who does sing. Viva Las Jason!!
have memphis beat programed into my dvr can”t miss a show.the show is for entertainment,who cares where it was shot
Never even thought abou “Earl”, loved the entire series. Hope it will be back!! Is that really Jason singing? Will the show be back? I have my DVR ready!!
As bad as I disliked “My name is Earl” I love this show. I was ready to dislike it, but it has won me over. Good Job!
I’m the other side of this coin. As much as I loved “My Name is Earl” I hate this show. Seems like a weak 3rd tier version of “The Good Guys.”
I don’t like ‘Good Guys’ but I loved Memphis Beat. Jason Lee, the music, Alfre Woodard, the music, the cityscapes, the music – I loved it all!! And I am impressed again by TNT’s commitment to original shows.
This show is terrible. How could you say that the show is “steeped in Memphis soul”? This depiction of Memphis is a joke. But hey, what can you expect from a show that’s filmed in New Orleans?
HMMMM, why such a New Orleans hater?
Must be bitterness due to Memphis being a poor man’s New Orleans
I don’t hate New Orleans at all. I love “Treme”. The show is called “Memphis Beat” and it’s not filmed in Memphis, so how can the show be truly capturing the soul of Memphis?
I love raeidng these articles because they’re short but informative.
Your posting really straitgheend me out. Thanks!
It’s really nothing like Memphis. At all.
That may be because, you know, they filmed it in New Orleans instead.
there are some scenes being filmed in Memphis
Love This Show!! I came into this waiting for anyting to remind me of every other crime drama on the market but ‘Memphis Beat’ is different. The actors are great and so is the music. I think TNT has produced a hit show.
I’m not sure I see the uniqueness of it. It’s just another procedural with a “quirky” lead. Jason Lee does a decent job with what he has to work with, but it lacks grit and sharp dialogue. At least JUSTIFIED had good Elmore Leonard source material and the one-two combo of Tim Olyphant and Walton Goggins.
I saw the commercials for this show and immediately thought “ok, TNT wants to have it’s own Justified?” Premise is just too similar for me, and there’s no question the writing, acting and cinematography is better on Justified.
Did I miss out not watching Justified?
Ames, you totally did. Justified is amazing. I don’t think it hit a single wrong note the entire season.
I’m a big Jason Lee fan and think he did a good job with a bland role. Overall, while the show boasts some cool music, this show ain’t up to the level of JUSTIFIED. That’s the problem with TNT. AMC and FX always do them at least one better.
Agreed, DT.
The show was filmed in New Orleans because its cheaper to film there instead of Memphis. Hopefully next season they will be able to film the show in the blues and rock n roll capital.
Yep, like BBQ and the Blues, follow the river from NOLA, to Memphis to KC to St Louis to Chicago!
And Memphis doesn’t need the jobs? last I looked it was hurting as bad as, if not a little worse than, any other Southern city in this economy. Just cause NOLA makes the news doesn’t mean they need the jobs worse. Filming there just means Clooney and Co. want the feel good headlines.
Over all the show was quirky and caught some of that mid-south soul I miss. I’ll keep watching.
Executive producer George Clooney has the series filming in NOLA to boost the economy there. It may be “cheaper”, but the real reason is Clooney’s effort to provide jobs there.
And George Clooney helping to provide jobs is a bad thing? Ya’ll need to get over yourselves. Survival is the priority in the current economy and if George Clooney can entertain us while providing jobs, then so be it.
There wasn’t one shot of, “Murder She Wrote” filmed in Maine, but Mainers weren’t ready to stage a coup over it. And believe me, the accents sucked. They generally do for anything set in Maine, which isn’t much.
Bring the production to Memphis and get it real!
Liked the show; loved the music.
yeah, and we memphians really love how they shot it all in new orleans. great job memphis film commission!
The show’s dialouge was terrible. I love Jason Lee, but I don’t see the show going anywhere. Having lived in Memphis, I am not aware of any significant creole influence here. Did the writers do any research? Why not base the show in New Orleans where the plot would’ve made sense.
Probably the first reasonable question. My guess is it had something to do with the Elvis thing.