Lifetime has a new series premiering in June. It is titled The Protector and stars Ally Walker. Walker first became a name familiar to the public when she starred in the TV series Profiler. Now she is back as Gloria Sheppard, an LAPD homicide detective. Her partner, Michelle, is played by Tisha Campbell-Martin. Together these two take on some of LAPD's toughest cases.
Miguel Ferrer plays their boss, Felix Valdez, and he is always a welcome addition to any cast. Hopefully Valdez will have more interaction with his detectives in future episodes. In the first one he was just hanging around from time to time.
Walker is a good actress and an attractive personality. In this show, she is a divorcee with two sons who lives with her younger brother Davey (Chris Payne Gilbert). He has some abuse problems in his past so she is his protector/watchdog. She also has to make sure her two sons (Thomas Robinson and Sage Ryan) are adjusting to their new home. There is obviously a lot on her plate but she is a wonder woman of efficiency.
This series has a lot going for it. It has a solid cast and a likeable "star." Still the perception is this show is too late for the party. Other shows such as White Collar, Covert Affairs, Burn Notice and especially In Plain Sight have all played on this same ground and done it better. There may be a chance the show will be outstanding once it finds its legs but for now the question is why watch something new that isn't as good as the competition?
The show will definitely get a boost when it premieres immediately following the season finale of Army Wives. Then the next week it picks up Drop Dead Diva as a lead in. But drawing an audience on its own will be tough. Walker and Ferrer have some fans but whether or not they are in big enough numbers to make this show successful is the quandary.
The Protector premieres Sunday, June 12 at 10PM.