Entertainment
'Shots Fired' Is A Limited Series With An Expansive Story
The new FOX series Shots Fired, premiering Wednesday March, 22, chronicles a small, fictional North Carolina town after a police shooting creates a politically charged environment. While the events of the series have been fictionalized, it has already gotten a lot of attention for asking real questions about race, the role of the police, and justice. With so much buzz surrounding the premiere and its billing as a "limited series," viewers may want to know just how many episodes of Shots Fired there will be before it wraps up its story.
FOX will air 10 one-hour episodes of Shots Fired, according to Deadline, and at a Television Critics' Association event for the series, cast member Richard Dreyfuss called it "the most current show you’ll ever see." The series focuses on what happens in a small (fictional) town when a black police officer kills a young white man. Throughout the course of the investigation, more injustices are uncovered and the plot thickens when race is revealed to be a long standing police issue in the town, after the investigators realize the murder of a black teen was covered up. At the same TCA event, creator Reggie Rock Bythewood said that Shots Fired is both "a who-done-it mystery" and "a why-done-it." So as the mystery is revealed over the course of those 10 episodes, viewers will still be experiencing a larger story.
In addition to its timely plot, the series is also being lauded for its cast. The FOX series boasts some big names (see the Richard Dreyfuss quote above). So, before tuning in Wednesday, March 22, get acquainted with the Shots Fired cast here.
Sanaa Lathan
The Tony Award-nominated actress (you know her from Now You See Me 2 and The Perfect Guy) stars as investigator Ashe Akino.
Stephan James
The Race and Selma actor plays prosecutor Preston Terry.
Helen Hunt
The Oscar-winning actress plays fictional North Carolina governor, Patricia Eamons, who could be involved in a police cover-up.
Richard Dreyfuss
Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss plays business mogul Arlen Cox, another potential player in the town's cover-up.
Stephen Moyer
The True Blood actor plays an intimidating member of the Sheriff's Department, Lieutenant Breeland.
Tristan "Mack" Wilds
The Wire and 90210 actor Tristan Mack Wilds plays the cop at the center of the shooting investigation. (If that's not what you know him from, maybe it's Adele's "Hello" video.)
Will Patton
You probably know him from Armageddon and Remember the Titans, but here, Will Patton plays the Sheriff of the town at the center of Shots Fired.
Aisha Hinds
Aisha Hinds, who plays Pastor Janae James, recently played Fannie Lou Hamer in All The Way.
Clare-Hope Ashitey
Clare-Hope Ashitey is best known for roles in Children of Men and Suspects.
DeWanda Wise
DeWanda Wise's TV credits include Boardwalk Empire, The Good Wife, The Mentalist, Law & Order, and Underground. Wise now stars as Shameeka Campbell, the mother of the teen whose murder has been covered up by local police.
Conor Leslie
You know Conor Leslie from her recurring parts on The Man in the High Castle and The Blacklist.
Jill Hennessy
The Law & Order and Crossing Jordan actress plays the mother of the teen killed at the start of the series.
Between its story and this cast, every single one of Shots Fired's 10 episodes should be something to look forward to.
