Backstrom (TV series)

Backstrom
Genre	Crime drama Comedy-drama
Based on	The Bäckström Series by Leif G. W. Persson
Developed by	Hart Hanson
Starring	Rainn Wilson Genevieve Angelson Kristoffer Polaha Page Kennedy Beatrice Rosen Thomas Dekker Dennis Haysbert
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Hart Hanson Leif G.W. Persson Mark Mylod Niclas Salomonsson
Producer(s)	Rainn Wilson
Production location(s)	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Running time	43 minutes
Production company(s)	Far Field Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	January 22 (2015-01-22) – April 30, 2015 (2015-04-30)
External links
Website

Backstrom is an American crime comedy-drama television series developed by Hart Hanson based on the Swedish book series by Leif G. W. Persson. The series is set in Portland, Oregon, and filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. The series aired from January 22 through April 30, 2015. On May 8, 2015, Fox cancelled the series after one season.

Plot

Backstrom centers on Everett Backstrom (Rainn Wilson), an "overweight, offensive, irascible" Portland Police Bureau detective lieutenant who is engaged in a constant struggle with his "self-destructive" tendencies, and is part of a team of eccentric criminologists.

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Rainn Wilson as Detective Lieutenant Everett Backstrom, head of the Special Crimes Unit. Prior to the beginning of the series Backstrom was demoted to Traffic following his racially insensitive outburst after he caught the murderer of six Native Americans.
• Genevieve Angelson as Detective Sergeant Nicole Gravely, Backstrom's second in command. Gravely is a young, idealistic detective who works with Backstrom even though she finds him to be lazy and cynical. Originally played by Mamie Gummer in the CBS pilot.
• Page Kennedy as Officer Frank Moto, member of the Special Crimes Unit, and a former MMA fighter.
• Kristoffer Polaha as Sgt. Peter Niedermayer, the unit's Forensics Liaison. Backstrom frequently mocks him for his New Age beliefs.
• Dennis Haysbert as Detective John Almond, a nondenominational minister who has been married for 30 years. In an offhand remark, Gravely mentions to Backstrom that Almond has the highest conviction rate out of any detective in the history of the Portland Police Bureau.
• Beatrice Rosen as Nadia Paquet, a foreign-born civilian who supports the detectives in the Special Crimes Group as a cyberspace expert.
• Thomas Dekker as Gregory Valentine, former male prostitute who is Backstrom's tenant, decorator and "underworld connection" due to his being a fence for stolen merchandise. Backstrom had previously met Valentine's mother, a prostitute. It is later revealed that Valentine is Backstrom's half-brother.

Recurring

• Ben Hollingsworth as ADA Steve Kines
• Sarah Chalke as Amy Gazanian, Chair of the Civilian Oversight Committee and Backstrom's ex-fiancée
• Inga Cadranel as Police Chief Anna Cervantes, Backstrom's former (police) partner
• Rizwan Manji as Doctor Deb, a doctor working for the Portland Police Bureau who provisionally clears Backstrom for duty on the caveat that he changes his self-destructive lifestyle.
• Robert Forster as Sheriff Blue Backstrom, Everett Backstrom's estranged father. Pistol-whipping Everett at a young age. Sheriff of Cooch County.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Dragon Slayer"	Mark Mylod	Hart Hanson	January 22, 2015 (2015-01-22)	1AWM79	7.98
2	"Bella"	Alex Chapple	Joe Hortua	January 29, 2015 (2015-01-29)	1AWM04	5.32
3	"Takes One to Know One"	Randy Zisk	Hart Hanson	February 5, 2015 (2015-02-05)	1AWM01	3.64
4	"I Am a Bird Now"	David Boyd	Karyn Usher	February 12, 2015 (2015-02-12)	1AWM02	4.39
5	"Bogeyman"	Jeff Woolnough	Eli Attie & Hart Hanson	February 19, 2015 (2015-02-19)	1AWM07	3.54
6	"Ancient, Chinese, Secret"	Sarah Pia Anderson	Thomas Wong	February 26, 2015 (2015-02-26)	1AWM10	3.81
7	"Enemy of My Enemies"	Jace Alexander	Andrew Miller	March 5, 2015 (2015-03-05)	1AWM03	3.90
8	"Give 'Til It Hurts"	Rob Hardy	Karine Rosenthal	March 26, 2015 (2015-03-26)	1AWM06	3.58
9	"The Inescapable Truth"	Michael Offer	Eli Attie	April 2, 2015 (2015-04-02)	1AWM05	3.16
10	"Love Is a Rose and You Better Not Pick It"	Kevin Hooks	Joe Hortua	April 9, 2015 (2015-04-09)	1AWM08	3.29
11	"I Like to Watch"	Adam Arkin	Karine Rosenthal	April 16, 2015 (2015-04-16)	1AWM09	3.39
12	"Corkscrewed"	Jeffrey Walker	Andrew Miller	April 23, 2015 (2015-04-23)	1AWM12	3.00
13	"Rock Bottom"	Kevin Hooks	Hart Hanson	April 30, 2015 (2015-04-30)	1AWM11	2.80

Production

In July 2012, CBS greenlit a pilot episode to be produced for Backstrom. The pilot for the series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

When CBS passed on the pilot, 20th Century Fox Television shopped it around to other networks before landing a 13-episode series order with their own network, Fox. For the pilot episode, the producers contacted Minor League Baseball team Portland Sea Dogs to use their hat with their logo for the family fishing boat business.

Reception

Backstrom has been met with mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show holds a rating of 35%, based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Backstrom's humor is a cop-out, availed little by the talented cast's attempt to make good of sloppy schtick." On Metacritic, the show has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews".

External links

• Official website
• Backstrom at IMDb

• "Mamie Gummer to Co-Star Opposite Rainn Wilson in CBS' 'Backstrom'", The Hollywood Reporter, March 21, 2013.