Lifetime’s ‘Against the Wall’ Debut

Lifetime’s new cop drama “Against the Wall,” debuted on Sunday, July 31st. Rachael Carpani stars as Abby Kowalski, a Chicago cop from an entire family of cops. Abby has just joined Internal Affairs and her partner is a very pregnant Lina Flores, played by Marisa Ramirez.

Meet Abby’s family: Her parents, Don and Sheila, are played by Treat Williams and Kathy Baker.

Her three brothers are Richie (Brandon Quinn), Donnie (James Thomas) and Steve (Steve Byers).

And, of course, we have two love interests for Abby: Danny Mitchell (Chris J. Johnson) and Richie’s partner, Brody (Andrew Walker), whom Abby is already having wild sex with.

In the pilot, Abby has not yet told her family that she made detective and accepted an Internal Affairs position because she knows her father will blow his stack. Two of her brothers find out first and they are far from pleased. Abby and her new partner, Lina, don’t exactly hit it off when Abby reveals that she only accepted the IAB post to bide her time until she can get into Homicide. But when Abby says that she plans to do the best job she can do while she is there, Lina softens a little.

They are investigating a police brutality complaint that stemmed from a bar brawl. But the investigation really takes a back seat to the family drama. When Daddy Kowalski does find out his darling daughter is now an Internal Affairs detective, he is furious and might even disown her. Abby’s mom is supportive. She tells her husband that parents support their children’s choices even if they don’t agree with them. Calm and matter-of-fact, Sheila makes it plain that she is on Abby’s side. But Abby does cross a line when she tries to enlist one of her brothers as a snitch.

It’s an entertaining and interesting twist on the usual police show fare.

Against the Wall Episodes on Amazon