Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Clever, broad cop-show spoof has cursing, off-color jokes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Angie Tribeca
What's the Story?
In Los Angeles, the streets are gritty and the criminals even grittier. But they don't make cops tougher than ANGIE TRIBECA (Rashida Jones), who's packing heat and ready for action in this absurd spoof of police procedurals. Tribeca's a rising star on the Really Heinous Crime Unit, where -- aside from assorted terrible crimes -- everything's just about perfect. That is, until her uptight boss Lieutenant Chet Atkins (Jere Burns) assigns her a rookie new partner, J. Geils (Hayes MacArthur). Working with a partner slows Tribeca down -- not the least because she's experiencing sudden new feelings for him. With Atkins on her tail and her whole unit watching, will Tribeca be able to foil the bad guys, bring criminals to justice, and keep from falling in love?
Is It Any Good?
Spoofing police procedurals is hardly a new idea, but this show's joke-a-minute approach yields fruit (and laughs), anchored as it is by sharp actors, good writing, and a parade of guest stars. Bill Murray! Gary Cole! Lisa Kudrow! The guest-star wattage can probably be attributed to the fact that Angie is exec-produced by Steve Carell and wife Nancy, who are also on writing duty. And they are funny, particularly with bold visual gags, Naked Gun-style. For example, the show opens with a montage of Angie working out, which escalates to knife throwing, which escalates to a shower with chin-ups on the bar and a towel fight with the objects on her bathroom counters. A sign later informs us that the coroner's office has a gift shop; one of the technical instruments in the coroner's office is a toy claw machine. The show also takes gleeful aim at cop-show tropes, as when Alfred Molina divines from a suspect's blackmail note that he has no respect for authority and is in desperate need of money. The light mood makes this good all-family fare, particularly for families with teens who enjoy goofy satire.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how police-show spoofs are relatively common on television: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Reno 911!, Archer. What is it about police shows that make them attractive to parodists?
Why don't the actors on Angie Tribeca laugh at the jokes? Is satire often put forth straight-faced? Why?
TV Details
- Premiere date : January 17, 2016
- Cast : Rashida Jones , Jere Burns , Deon Cole
- Network : TBS
- Genre : Comedy
- TV rating :
- Last updated : December 8, 2025
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