TVSquad

Durham County is being touted as the Ion (formerly PAX) network's first foray into original scripted programming in years. And that's kind of true. Except that Durham County first premiered more than two years ago in Canada. There, it's had two six-episode seasons. But while there was a long two-year gap between those seasons up north, Ion will be airing both as a twelve-episode first season stateside.

Based on just that first episode, Durham County is one hell of a ride. I don't think I've felt that much discomfort about what I was watching on a television show in a long, long time. It wasn't so much the gratuitous violence, and it was certainly there, but it was in the characterizations. There were parts of that premiere that were equal parts riveting and just so disturbing you didn't even want to be in the same room with it.

(S01E01) "You know why we're all here? It's about helping you." -- Sgt. Gregory Parker

Yet another cop show has blasted into our lives: Flashpoint, which premiered Friday at 10 PM on CBS. I'm not much for cop shows, and never got into all the CSI, Law & Order shows that continue to grace the airwaves. But I have to say, I was riveted to this one. Not as riveted as I am to 24, but you never know. We'll see how it goes.

It revolves around an elite emergency police unit in Toronto known as the Strategic Response Unit (SRU). The show was actually inspired by Toronto's real-life Emergency Task Force, and the series is filmed in Toronto, which gives it an authentic air and allows the city to shine in a way it hasn't before. Even in this first episode, we see beautiful shots of the architecture and urban landscape.

The SRU team handles all the nitty-gritty stuff -- hostage situations, gangs, bombs, suicidal teens, you name it. Because of this, they also have an impressive array of state-of-the-art weapons -- sniper rifles, tasers, flash-bang grenades, and a bunch of other stuff I've probably never heard of.

Flashpoint premieres Friday, July 11, at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, and yes, it's another cop show, but it sounds gritty enough to offer something interesting. The new summer drama stars Enrico Colantoni as Sergeant Greg Parker, Hugh Dillon as Ed Lane, David Paetkau as Sam Braddock, and Amy Jo Johnson as Jules Callahan.

The series follows the lives of a Toronto-based Strategic Response Unit (SRU), unique cops who go beyond the call of ordinary cops to rescue hostages, bust gangs, defuse bombs, handle state-of-the-art weaponry and, of course, risk their lives to save others.

I participated in a conference call this week with Colantoni, Dillon, Johnson, and executive producers Bill Mustos and Anne Marie La Traverse. Some highlights of the call: