The Police Have a New Boss in EAST NEW YORK, and Amanda Warren’s No-Nonsense Character Knows She Must Turn Heads Fast

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede   Amanda Warren confirmed she’s a sports fan, so she understood the comparison instantly. Warren’s lead character in one of the most highly anticipated series of the fall TV season – EAST NEW YORK, which debuts Sunday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app – has a new job, and it’s a tough one. Deputy Inspector Regina Haywood is now the boss of the 74th Precinct, which is in a working-class neighbourhood on the edge of Brooklyn. Regina, who has family ties to the area, is determined to deploy creative policing methods to make a difference. But she needs the cooperation of her officers and detectives, some of whom are skeptical of her promotion, and almost all of whom are resistant to change. Early in EAST NEW YORK, when Regina addresses her employees for the first time, she’s impressive – so much so, that viewers will be left thinking, “THAT’S why she got promoted.” She’s supportive, but absolutely no-nonsense. Regina basically tells her employees – much like the new coach of a sports team might tell his or her players – that she has always had her own ideas about how things could work better, and now she has one chance to test them. As Regina bluntly puts it in a later conversation with her mentor Chief John Suarez, played by EMMY® Award winner Jimmy Smits, she understands her new job is not a lifetime position. If she doesn’t get results fast, she’s going to be replaced. So she’s not going to waste her time trying to live out someone else’s dream, or put in place someone else’s procedures. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely, I couldn’t have said it better – oh, thank you so much for enjoying that experience in the first episode,” Warren said. “And we just really hope to bring a lot more of that in the upcoming season.” Warren added that given all the politics and rules in the New York Police Department, even if Regina does a fantastic job in her new position, she might not be in it for all that long. “You run the risk not only of getting terminated, but being front and centre in a neighbourhood like this, even if she gets promoted, in the NYPD you cannot be promoted within the same precinct, or within the same district rather, that you are currently working in,” Warren said. “So if she gets promoted, or if there’s a change of rank, she’s out as well. This is a career-making position, because there are so many active opportunities to stand out, because of all the crime. But it’s time-sensitive in different aspects. She could excel, but then all her methods that maybe have worked could be gone when she leaves. So it’s a very tricky situation that she’s in.” As for Warren herself, taking on the lead role in EAST NEW YORK is a promotion of sorts, too. There aren’t many cops on her acting resume, but she has been diligently working toward this opportunity in recent years with a variety of roles in acclaimed series such as HBO’s THE LEFTOVERS (available on Crave) and DICKINSON. “No pressure!” she said with a laugh, when asked about playing the lead character on such a high-profile new show. “But it’s exciting. It’s really a good pressure. And it is an ensemble story. We’ve got a great, great group of people (besides Warren and Smits, the EAST NEW YORK cast includes Richard Kind, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Kevin Rankin, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Lavel Schley, and Olivia Luccardi). Warren continued, “For me, I have a body of work out there, and it’s really an embarrassment of riches with the opportunities I’ve had. Plus, this is my fifth broadcast network pilot, but it’s the first one that has been picked up. So (the people who cast EAST NEW YORK) were able to see me on THE LEFTOVERS and DICKINSON, the movies I’ve been in, plus all the guest appearances and the recurring appearances I’ve had with certain shows, and also they got to see a lot of work (in those other pilots) that audiences weren’t necessarily able to see. So I like to think the work kind of spoke for itself. They took a chance and saw where it could lead, and here we are. They’re continuing the journey, and they invited me along.” Viewers are invited, too!   billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv