If you’re looking for a cop show that isn’t the same by-the-books procedural, try these four:
“The Red Road” (Thursday, Feb. 27, 9 p.m., Sundance Channel)
Whether they’re magical spiritual guides or the “me say ‘how’” comic relief, the Native Ameican population is typically written in shorthand for TV. So the latest six-episode miniseries from Sundance is refreshing in that not only does it give us a Native American tribe outside of the desert plains — they live in New Jersey — but they’re not relegated to working in a casino or even to being portrayed by chiseled, rough-hewn actors — the beautiful Tamara Tunie (who is part Native American) plays the matriarch of a troubled family living in an isolated Indian community. But the breakout star is Jason Momoa (“Game of Thrones”), who plays her estranged son and uses every bit of his intimidating presence to overpower everyone in town — including town cop (Martin Henderson).
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (Tuesday, 9:30 p.m., Fox)
Not only are the bumbling cops in this Andy Samberg comedy surprisingly competent, they’ve gelled as a cast to grow out their caricaturish origins. And those usual season-long arcs — Jake and Amy’s (Melissa Fumero) competition for arrests, the Sarge’s (Terry Crews) desk duty — were resolved half way through the season so that this series actually keeps you guessing about what will happen next to the motley, but funny squad.
“Banshee” (Friday, 10 p.m., Cinemax)
If you think the usual lineup of police procedurals doesn’t offer enough unflinching violence and explicit sex, this pay-cable series spares no expense to give you a very grisly slice of police work in a darkly funny, if mostly ridiculous, series. The criminal who stole the murdered town sheriff’s identity (Antony Starr) has evolved this season, dealing with the emotional fallout of his past — including his responsibility for the dead cop’s son, who was murdered by Proctor (Ulrich Thomsen).
“True Detective” (Sunday, 9 p.m., HBO)
Much of the HBO series still falls on this side of predictable police drama — angry superior tossing around threats of dismissal to his “rogue” cops, bad guys who are cartoonishly villainous with no redeeming qualities. But the relationship between two seemingly diametrically opposite personalities, Matthew McConaughey as Rust Cohle and an underrated Woody Harrelson as his partner Martin Hart, is worth the price of admission each week. This week, we find out what drove apart the pair back in 2002 — and probably not coincidentally, Martin’s ex-wife Maggie (Michelle Monaghan) is telling her side of the story.