7.4 /10 1 Votes
81% Rotten Tomatoes Created by Edward Burns Directed by Edward Burns Original language(s) English Final episode date 20 October 2015 Director Edward Burns | 6.9/10 IMDb 7/10 TV Written by Edward Burns Country of origin United States First episode date 25 August 2015 Network TNT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Edward Burns
Michael Rapaport
Elizabeth Masucci
Katrina Bowden
Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Wass Stevens
Keith Nobbs
Austin Stowell
Patrick Murney
Lyndon Smith
Brian Wiles
Cormac Cullinane Genres Crime film, Police procedural Similar Mob City, NYC 22, Law & Order: Special V, Murder in the First, The Black Donnellys Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Public Morals is a ten-episode American police drama television series, which is created, written, executive-produced and directed by Edward Burns who is also starring. Set in New York City in the 1960s, the show focuses on the Public Morals Division of the New York City Police Department and its officers' attempts to deal with vice in the city, while managing their personal lives as Irish Americans. The series aired from August 25 until October 20, 2015, on TNT. The network collaborated with Amblin Television, Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, and Aaron Lubin as producers. On December 15, 2015, TNT canceled the series after one season.
Contents
Public morals trailer
Cast and characters
Recurring
Production
Creator Edward Burns began working on film scripts about Irish-American New York City police officers and Irish-American gangsters when executive producer Steven Spielberg suggested he write a script about his father's experience on the NYPD, while on the set of Saving Private Ryan. Though Public Morals did not draw from those scripts, Burns' research for them helped establish a foundation for the television series. In May 2015, TNT placed a 10-episode order for the series. While producing the series, Burns incorporated references to some of his favorite police and gangster films, including references to The Hustler, The Godfather, The French Connection, and Mean Streets, among other films.
Release
The series premiered on TNT on August 25, 2015. All other episodes were released on demand before they were broadcast on TV: episodes 2–4 on August 26, and the remaining episodes on September 5, 2015.
Reception
Public Morals received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the series has a rating of 81%, based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Public Morals is a worthy mob crime drama, with a strong leading man and a talented supporting cast counterbalancing cliché-ridden dialogue." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 69 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".