Terriers (TV series)

Terriers
Company type	Television series
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	September 8, 2010; 16 years ago
Defunct	December 6, 2010
Fate	Canceled
Headquarters	United States
Products	Television series

Terriers is a U.S.-based crime fiction comedy-drama television series created by Ted Griffin, which aired on FX from September 8 through December 1, 2010. FX canceled the series on December 6, 2010, after just one season.

Premise

The narrative centers on Hank Dolworth, a former police officer and recovering alcoholic, who teams up with his close friend Britt Pollack, an ex-convict, to operate an unlicensed private investigation agency. The storyline unfolds in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California—portrayed as a unique community—and follows Dolworth’s life following his tenure with the fictional Ocean Beach Police Department.

Main

Donal Logue as Henry "Hank" Dolworth
Michael Raymond-James as Britt Pollack
Laura Allen as Katie Nichols, Britt’s romantic partner
Kimberly Quinn as Gretchen Dolworth, Hank’s former spouse
Jamie Denbo as Maggie Lefferts, Hank’s lawyer and occasional employer
Rockmond Dunbar as Detective Mark Gustafson, Hank’s friend and ex-partner

Recurring

Loren Dean as Jason Adler, Gretchen’s fiancé
Karina Logue as Stephanie "Steph" Dolworth, Hank’s sister (and Donal Logue’s real-life sibling)
Alison Elliott as Laura Ross, investigative blogger
Michael Gaston as Ben Zeitlin, local legal counsel
Maximiliano Hernández as Ray, Britt’s former criminal partner
Daren Scott as Burke, Zeitlin’s enforcer
Alex Fernie, Alex Berg, Todd Fasen portraying "Squatters"
Johnny Sneed as Professor Elliot Owen, Katie’s college instructor
Rachel Miner as Eleanor Gosney, daughter of an old friend of Hank's
Craig Susser as Detective Ronnie Reynolds, partner to Mark Gustafson
Stephen Frejek in the role of Officer Robledo
Zack Silva as Gavin, Katie’s college acquaintance
Christopher Cousins as Robert Lindus, local real estate developer

Reception

The series holds a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 6.7/10 from 27 critics. The critical consensus describes it as "well-acted and quite funny," noting that Terriers injects a fresh and quirky perspective into the detective genre. On Metacritic, it received a score of 75 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, signifying "generally favorable reviews."

In year-end lists for 2010, Terriers was ranked #10 by James Poniewozik of Time. Jace Lacob from The Daily Beast also included it among his top ten shows that year. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix positioned it at #3 overall and #1 among new series in 2010. The A.V. Club placed it seventh in their best shows of the year. IGN awarded the season a flawless "10," describing it as a "massively gratifying TV experience," and named it the "Best New Series of 2010." Additionally, the show received a nomination for Outstanding New Program by the Television Critics Association.

Reflecting in 2023 on the show's impact, creator Shawn Ryan stated:

I believe Terriers was somewhat ahead of its era. It would have been enjoyable to produce for platforms like Netflix, Amazon, or Apple where viewers could discover it at their own pace. I take responsibility for not advocating more strongly for a better title. I think FX would acknowledge that the marketing efforts for the show were never quite right. Ultimately, it aired at an unfortunate time and place.

External links