19-2 (2014–2017) User Reviews (47)

Not a typical "cop" show.

[StevenR-64 · 8/10 · 5 March 2014]

I've never seen the original french series, so I can't speak to how it compares to that, but I can say that it holds up on it's own as a great drama series.

The show is not action based in the way that you might expect from a show about a police squad. Sure there is a fair amount of action, fights and gun play, but that's not where the shows strength is. Instead the show is about the characters and the drama between them. This is not typical episodic TV where the characters face a new challenge at the beginning of every episode, and then resolve it by the end of the episode so everything is back to being the same. In 19-2 the storyline stretches across multiple episodes. If you start watching the series he middle of the season it will take you a few episodes to get up to speed, probably a good idea to watch the earlier episodes online first.

The cast of 19-2 is fantastic and the story unfolds more like a feature film than TV.

if you're looking for a shoot 'em up action show then there are other shows you might like better, but I can easily recommend 19-2 to anyone looking for a deeper drama series.

One "depressing" show worth watching

[robin_should · 9/10 · 20 June 2014]

OK I have read the other reviews and agree that this show can be depressing. I'm not even sure why I started to watch this but I then discovered each of the characters had their own crosses to bear, whether self-inflicted or through a series of circumstances and events, they all fight the daily fight of life, and the fight to stay alive in their jobs, stay faithful to friends and just do the right thing. The storyline makes this really hard and that's what makes this show so compelling. The actors are good, the script more realistic than most other police shows because people in real life have personal problems and jobs to cope with at the same time. I know this is set in Monteal and was a show in french first but my french is so rusty I would have given up after a few minutes, so, thank you for letting us poor English speakers into the world of 19-2.

19-2 Truly Quality

[glensimpson-72209 · 9/10 · 9 August 2016]

I was semi-surprised I suppose, to see the negative reviews. I waste very little time on TV these days, but there a few shows which I am very much drawn into.19-2 is certainly one of them. Along with Ballers, Game of Thrones, Ray Donovan, Bosch, (quite like the one with Lucifer on regular cable too) 19-2 is excellent. And, it's Canadian. The first time I came across Jared Keeso was LetterKenny. Classic for sure, if you played hockey in this country (Canada)! But wow, dude is a solid actor! He, and Nick Barron (not looking up his name right now) are excellent! I've been literally shocked by a couple episodes over the few years, and that rarely happens. Very real, and gritty, really good show! Honestly don't get what the haters are hating on. Unless it's compared to the French version which I just can't speak to (much love to my French Canadian brothers)! Give it a watch. I suspect you won't be disappointed!

Refreshing take on a cop show.

[jody-bilyj · 8/10 · 4 March 2014]

It's refreshing to finally see an English language show that's filmed in Montreal actually be based in Montreal storyline wise. This show steers clear of the stereotypical cop characters and shows us many shades of grey rather than the standard black and white we too often see. I love the cold blueness of the shots.

Seems like this might be shot with no filters and I love that look. Looking forward to seeing how the show plays out. It almost feels like we're getting a behind the scenes glimpse into the day to day lives of police officers. The show seems to be staying true to The French version and that's a good thing since I also really have liked that show too. Good stuff!

It's grown on me!

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 9/10 · 31 July 2017]

I really didn't like this show at first. My first bad impression was "Montreal Police that speak English, with most cops having zero French accent... lame"

Well, everything else about this show out-weighed that obvious flaw.

I'm not a fan of slow paced films, but this one did it very well. The sound was on point with the tension, directing and cinematography perfect, and the acting spot on!

What's even more intriguing, how Jared Keeso has evolved from a serious playing cop to his character in Letterkenny... wow.

Props to all those involved for yet another top-notch Canadian production! 9/10 from me

Bravo to Bravo

[benny-nordberg · 10/10 · 4 March 2014]

I feel like Canadian TV has really stepped up its game in the last few years. I was blown away by 19-2 from the first scene and have not looked back. The character development has me fully committed to the outcomes of their lives. The story line really taps into the grittiness of real life and the challenges of the not so generic population. I love that this steps away from the white picket fence middle America and expresses some serious honesty. This show could have been really typical but it has been anything but - the feeling when I sit down and watch every week is that of a movie. I would rival this show to some original Netflix series that have done very well (Orange is the New Black). I will also never complain about a Nick Barron "butt" shot or watching Beatrice throw down for all of us girls out there. Bravo is setting a new standard with its actors as well and the attention to the details. I say Bravo - to Bravo and the cast of 19-2. You should all be proud, I know I am.

One of the BEST police shows & I'm from a police family

[info-12190 · 10/10 · 1 October 2017]

I LOVE 19-2 and I'm bummed that the fourth season is the final season. I wish it would go on forever. There is a special quality to this show that is rarer than rare, as if all concerned are concerned with just doing their jobs and keeping it real, because real is the operative element here. I am going to watch this series again, it's that good! The only series I've watched twice are The Sopranos, when I got a big screen TV, and Prime Suspect, which is amazing. Come to think of it, it may be time to re-watch a few more of Lynda LaPlante's series. Acorn TV has them, as they have 19-2. TV is ten times better than movies now. We're all very lucky.

Surprisingly GREAT Canadian series

[karenmulhern · 10/10 · 3 April 2014]

From the first episode 19-2 distinguishes itself as a unique look inside a unit of urban patrolmen, giving equal glimpses of their lives on and off the job. This show is more character study than police procedural-- yes there are calls to answer and nerve wracking situations, but they exist as vehicles for developing our understanding of what makes these men and women tick as individuals and partners. The dialog is extremely well written and acted--the actors speak like real people in real situations. Occasionally scenes switch from what is happening IN the moment to what the characters are thinking OF the moment, a plot device that only works if a scene is expertly written,which is definitely the case here! Episode 10 just aired this week and a major (yet completely unanticipated) revelation occurred that I suspect will shift alliances and friendships within the unit. I have no idea what will happen next, but I'm sure it will be interesting!

This series is developing quite well, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's around for quite awhile!

Southland...With sympathy!

[jonmccann · 10/10 · 4 August 2016]

It is hard for 'smaller' TV stations to get on the global TV series map, but Canadian TV has been having a good stab it for a few years, 19-2 brings home the hard fought efforts!

Just a joy to watch, yet not action packed in every episode, instead it gradually draws you in, like a family history that you never knew about but gives you more interest as more information is established! That's exactly what 19-2 is, it takes it's time, weaves a web of many different stories, doesn't tempt you for more too soon, just leaves you waiting for the next install/thrillment and never gets involved in silly sub plots outside of the 'family'! And all in 40-ish minutes per episode. That doesn't mean you wont bond with the characters, it just means it has limits and lets you decide the rest for yourself.

If you don't love the series after the first season, you don't know good TV, if you don't love it after episode 1 of season 2, you're not watching the right TV for your mind! One of the best made dramas on TV!

It's really only so-so

[dimiturmechev · 7/10 · 29 August 2014]

Based on the French series of the same name (to say really based, storyline by storyline, not just loosely) is definitely a helper here, since the current writer had possibility of improvement upon. I can't say it didn't help it, but some auxiliary story lines seem just... dull. They are forced to show us scenes where it is nearly explicit that nothing serious has happened, however from their point of view it is shown as if it were some major arc in the plot (characters panicking for no reason and all). Also, an awful lot of stalling and beating around the bush with those "imaginary" characters that I think, one or two scenes could've been good, but not 5 or 10. Finally, I think there is too little room for logical progression in the show being given the fact that it happens in Montreal and touches only the English speaking community (which is minoritary in Montreal, like it or not). I think they should've made some characters speak French, or show a funny side situation where one cop speaks French and one doesn't, and the one who doesn't getting stuck with a French-speaking person, etc. etc. That was totally muted. So yeah, 7 out of 10 is my score. Patiently waiting for Season 2...

Awesome Show

[sinpumaorig · 10/10 · 4 March 2014]

I will admit that I have met a few of the actors that are in this show so at first I was afraid to watch it in case it was bad and I didn't like it. But I was so pleasantly surprised. It surpassed all my expectations! It is beautifully shot. The acting, from everyone, is great. Some performances are better than others but I feel like everyone is pulling their weight and I actually want to know what happens to them. One of the characters is so mean I really hate him and only a strong actor can make you feel that way. It is gritty and dirty and cops are portrayed in all different lights. We can see how people can overreact cause they don't have the full story and we also see how the cops can power trip and act badly. Overall this is a show that is worth your time and I will be watching it season after season!!

This could be another "The Wire" but.............

[davidjskeen-53445 · 6/10 · 31 March 2021]

This could be one of the best series ever written, it could be right up there with "The Wire, The Soprano's and Breaking Bad etc" but for some howling mistakes and they seem to come at the end, in the finale's of the season ending. I don't want to add spoilers but who would leave a runaway, who's just been found on their own after she's been on the run for weeks and is the only witness to a murder, and is a police officer to boot. It wouldn't happen and these silly mistakes (yes there's more than one) spoil the rest of what could be a series right up there with the best. Maybe I'm been picky but other than a few long winded lags in action it could be a great show overall. For a show that is well written, well acted and well produced someone should have caught these mistakes.

Sex or cops?

[jkirkpetty · 5/10 · 28 September 2018]

Is this a show about "let's have sex with anything we can catch"? Or a police drama?? Could be a decent show but OMG let's slow down on the constant sex... really?????

A STAND-OUT SERIES

[E Canuck · 8/10 · 29 July 2018]

Commencing season 4 via Crave TV, I've really been enjoying this series. I think the casting is superlative, acting excellent and most of the writing is very credible, I'm less inclined to nit-pick this series than many I've watched, especially Canadian ones. I've a Quebecois friend who tells me the French series on which this is based was much stronger. If true, the Francophone original must have been really special. I'm going to be watching for a change in tone in this final season with its switch to CTV from Bravo. Already, in the first episode I think I might be seeing a bit of a change in tone, perhaps less credible action on the part of at least one of the characters, and one improbable action event. That might reflect my prejudices about these networks, though. I miss Bravo network which we used to get before the cable service for our building was changed to a different provider. Another series that took a distinct nosedive switching to another network from its Bravo originator is Inspector Murdoch. Under CBC's watch the whole thing seemed to change emphasis to splashy production values and writing stereotypes. The main character Murdoch is awfully prettified.

Not your ordinary 'crime' show

[ciorniiliv · 8/10 · 10 August 2016]

This show seriously deserves the great reviews, a brilliant show with incredible actors who give outstanding performances all through the series. This show surprised me on a grand scale, with impeccable story lines and even better executed characters. The character development throughout the show keeps you second guessing everything you are ever told about the shows' protagonists and have you yearning for more. The portrayal of street life is what I imagine it to be like in the real world. 19-2 has amazing twists and turns, it shows that even the black and white cases have some grey areas. The cinematography within the episodes themselves is beautiful and seriously warrants recognition. Each and every episode tackles a fresh angle and perspective on a story which is both realistic and completely fictional, through the balance is not perfect, it does come close.

Best cop series I've seen

[robgproduction · 10/10 · 26 December 2019]

As a lover of good cop drama, I've seen them all. 19-2 delivers drama, action, and the occasional piece of dark humour. Character development is brilliant and raw. Two thumbs up!

Stands out from most other cop shows

[Hawk-SRB · 10/10 · 17 October 2021]

Besides everyone complaining that this was filmed in English, I like the show. Each character having to deal with their own problems makes the show much more interesting, the drama element in the show is big, which is why my first impression was good.

A cop show like no other

[BabsbytheBeach · 9/10 · 14 March 2017]

It took me a few episodes to warm up to 19-2, but once I did, I was hooked. All of the rave reviews from the NYT and Wall Street Journal are spot on: this cop show is exactly what cop shows needed. I love the fact that the cops are not perfect, they suffer from PTSD, they make mistakes, they don't get along, and they sometimes have each others' backs. The viewer sometimes does not know who the heroes or villains are, because sometimes life just works that way. Adrian Holms and Jared Keeso are great as the central team you follow, and the supporting cast hold their own with equal skill. From exceptional scripts to fantastic casting, this gritty crime drama kept me bingeing until my eyes were seeing double. Acron.TV you need to upload the 2017 season, I'm suffering from withdrawal symptoms!

Superb police procedural. Every episode seems better than previous. Satisfying ending.

[abbott-bill · 10/10 · 26 February 2022]

My wife and I were very impressed with season 1, episode 1, very smart writing, good acting, we thought, "That was great, but they can't possibly keep it going at that level." Ah, but they could! Every episode in season 1 is better than the one before it. How is that even possible?

Two mis-matched cops, one country, one city, are paired up after separate tragedies they didn't cause, but have to deal with. Other cops in Montreal's 19th Precinct are competent or better, their sergeant is experienced and dynamic. The commander is an unpromising weasel. Police work is mostly reacting to what criminals do. A lot less gunfire and fewer car chases happen than in U. S. cop shows,

Most police work isn't exotic. Innocent persons sometimes need help, and call the police. A lot of crime is unsophisticated. Fights by drunks in bars, or on the streets. Theft, robbery and assault. Even murder. Alleged criminals have to be apprehended and booked into jail. Investigations have to establish who did what to whom, and when. Prosecutors have to be briefed, and testimony offered in court. Not everyone arrested is a criminal, or guilty of a particular crime. Accidents and mistakes mislead and complicate all human stories.

There isn't a murder in every episode. One story starts with a homeless man the city cop has seen before, found poorly sheltered outside an office building, with a sub-freezing night on the way.. In another story, the partners go to a highschool in response to an active shooter. Alcohol stands behind a lot of foolishness, but not all of it.

On our most binge-ing day, we watched 5 episodes. With breaks for meal preparation.

Its about people, innocent, cops and criminals. Awful things happen, or happened in the past, .PG-13 or older, sometimes. Persuasively written and acted.

Blah - disappointment

[dtdenver-987-925546 · 16 August 2016]

I use a personal cheese-o-meter when it comes to cop shows. Does the buff black guy (because that's a requirement on TV) have shorter uniform sleeves than the other cops - to show off his hard-earned gym muscles? If yes, I brace myself for a steady and swift progression of clichés and stereotypes. Such was the case with the two episodes of 19-2 that I could force myself to watch. "Character driven" dramas can be tricky if the characters are sullen lumps whose lives are one problem after the other. The beauty of Montreal won't draw me back to that boring show - which is a shame because I try to bond with any show not filmed in California.

Good start bland continuation

[meme-36137 · 7/10 · 9 August 2017]

Having watched the brilliant series Southland, I really wanted to give this a go, the first two seasons were well done, we got a good insight into the characters who they were, their personal demons and relationships, it was sublime and written nicely. The third season felt like it had plot twists here and there, and there was a focus on the plot and a few character arcs in between, the middle half of the third season didn't feel as good as the previous seasons and the first few episodes of season 4 have not been as good as this show once was, riddled with clichés, ***spoiler*** for once I would like to see a show where the female character going through personal demons doesn't end up with the male front runner ,after a few drinks, also going through a deep personal tragedy and then the usual banter of a few mistakes were made follows. I don't like it and I don't get it can writers not do more than this, how about showing two people form a deep friendship and a bond based on their loss,I mean it feels like putting the two characters going through hardship in their life together was the simplest way the writers went.

I hope season 4 gives a good character arc to Jean-Marc Brouillard by developing his arc fully, and not chalking it down to a stereotype. Hoping this show ends well and meshes the characters out well because the actors are good I feel the writers need to give them well written characters.

One of the best

[ursanddon · 10/10 · 15 May 2022]

One of the best cop dramas ever. Maybe it's the fact that it's filmed somewhere I've never been or that the characters are so well portrayed. I'm watching the whole series for a second time. Excellent production. Very fast paced, especially the first two seasons.

Good cop drama but...

[pattenstep · 7/10 · 3 February 2016]

All the French people seem to have disappeared from Montreal! The police dispatcher mispronounces every French street name. Does English-language Canadian TV have to be so segregated? When I lived in Montreal (admittedly many years ago) even the English cops spoke French. Subtitles during encounters with French people could be used.

The show is otherwise a good slice-of-life cop show, making good use of the stresses of everyday policing. The locations are gritty, and the bad guys are bad in their own Canadian ways. The handling the of domestic disputes is especially good.

I've watched only four episodes so far, so perhaps things will change. Perhaps also some story arcs not connected with cops' personal lives (like run ins with the the same bad guys) would add depth.

A carefully crafted program, but with a ton of exaggeration

[yardbirdsraveup-758-583391 · 5/10 · 24 October 2017]

I subscribe to Acorn TV and saw that this program was featured. "Why not watch it?", I said to myself. So I watched the first season and was initially enraptured with the characters and the demons that they struggled with as they did their daily work as cops.

There is absolutely no way a bunch of people that have these problems can function adequately as a police force. We have a wife beater (JM), an alcoholic (Tyler), a lesbian (Beatrice or "Bear"), a totally incorruptible cop (Ben), a sleaze bag commander (Gendron) and a loose cannon (Nick) who is probably the worst of the bunch not only because he gets himself involved with so many undesirables, but manages to screw a bunch of women in the process (I counted six sexual encounters with this character who screwed a fellow cop - Audrey-, his ex-wife - Isabelle- his son's girlfriend's mother(!), a visiting police detective - Elise, and a couple of other women).

This guy alone made my head spin and the story unraveled just because this kind of stuff never happens in real life. Not only is Nick sexually charged (according to what TV wants you to believe), but he also has bouts of aggression and depression which almost drives him to suicide in one episode. Totally unrealistic and most improbable in ordinary, mundane life.

Then there's the political side of the show which is more realistic and believable when it comes to corruption. Commander Gendron is a sleaze bag, a back stabber, a snitch. He's the kind of guy who, as a kid, was probably beaten up a lot of times because he was a tattle tale and goody two shoes in grammar school.

This guy is so sleazy and untrustworthy, that his own daughter (a heroin addict) hates his guts and even said "I could never trust you." Nice family relationship! Acorn has all four seasons and I managed to wade through the first two and a half. In all honesty, I like the show, but the characters and their antics just aren't realistic in real life.

I visited Montreal a couple of times in my lifetime and from what I saw in this program isn't what Montreal is about. 19-2 makes Montreal a bad place to live in, like one of our cities stateside. Nothing could be further from the truth. And also, the antics that go on in this precinct are, in a word, exaggerated.

Astonishing Program - so glad I found it

[lmflaherty-93154 · 10/10 · 4 February 2021]

Having some friends and family in law enforcement, this show has opened my eyes to the things they go through and never talk about. It can be profoundly depressing, but helps me understand the heroism of the people that protect us. The Season 2, Episode 1 story is the one that has made me cry. The situation was presented as I am reasonably sure is what happens when people have to run into a situation and help people get away. So. Freaking. Intense.

I'm only in the middle of Season 2 now but I truly hope this goes on forever.

God bless everyone out there that protects us.