LA’s Finest canceled: Why it’s disappointing and how the show never reached its potential

Buddy cop series LA’s Finest has been canceled after two seasons, and now it will never reach its full potential.

The days of Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba roaming the streets of Los Angeles with badges are over. Spectrum Originals’ series LA’s Finest was canceled after just two seasons. The crime drama was a spin-off to Bad Boys II that, for 26 episodes, followed the story of Sydney Burnett (Union).

The cancellation is a bummer for followers of the series. This was one of the few shows that featured two leading women as buddy cops. Not only that, but the season two finale was a setup for season three. Someone had blown up Syd and Nancy McKenna’s car. While the duo was okay, there were two people overseeing the explosion. It sets up a plot where the LAPD partners would have to figure out who wanted them dead. With the show’s cancellation, the series won’t have the opportunity to play out the saga.

This series’ cancellation, however, does not necessarily mean it is the end of the road for Syd’s storyline. In September, a report surfaced that Bad Boys 4, 5, and 6 are in development. If the rumors are true, then there is a possibility one of those sequels may include a crossover featuring Syd and Nancy.

Why LA’s Finest Was a Miss

This was a series NBC dumped before heading to Spectrum Originals. In a review, the Hollywood Reporter would write that the show “isn’t good but it isn’t awful.” Other reviews would echo similar sentiments. Admittedly, there is a state of confusion when watching an episode. The show has star power and it has action, but there is something about each episode where it feels like something is missing. Meanwhile, the elephant in the room is screaming this is a Bad Boys spin-off.

Stacking up to Bad Boys is by no means an easy task. A sequel faces enormous expectations, let alone a spin-off series. There were elements LA’s Finest tried to mimic from the motion picture such as a 360-degree spinning camera shot (a signature style of Michael Bay), special effects, and blending genres of comedy and crime drama. In doing so, it exposed the show’s shortcomings, as it didn’t measure up.

In terms of name recognition, Union and Alba are as good as it gets when casting for a series on paper. This pairing was decent, however, with the relationship of their respective characters, similar to Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowry (Will Smith) in Bad Boys, Union needed to be paired with a comedian for this series to work. There were times where the comedy falls flat. This is why the arguing dynamic between the characters does not work in the series, whereas the Bad Boys franchise excels in that area. The lack of a comedic actor in this situation exposed the writing flaws of this show and hindered the overall quality.

This show needed tweaks well before it shot its pilot episode. The general synopsis for this series, the locations, and the show’s color grading were positives. This Jerry Bruckheimer Television series needed that one comedian (i.e. Leslie Jones or Melissa McCarthy) for Union to play off of, better writing, and a few tweaks in its casting to build out a stronger supporting cast.

It’s a shame for a spin-off with so much potential to be a successful series get canceled after 26 episodes — well before it ever hit its peak.

What are your thoughts on the cancellation of LA’s Finest after two seasons? Let us know in the comments section below.