7. Street Kings (2008)
Lets face it; cop shows are always popular on television. More recently, the advent of the gritty cop show has boosted the viewership of more than one network on TV. The 2008 film Street Kings is a film just begging to be gender transferred into a TV show. The movie itself was mediocre stand alone cop thriller. It had its ambitions, but the film itself didnt quite get to where it wanted to go. A valiant effort, but todays audiences are more interested in the final product. Keanu Reeves is not a bad actor, although he didnt really fit the part of hard boiled, bend the rules cop Tom Ludlow in the film. The premise of a small group of cops that go above the law when necessary in it of itself is ripe for exploration for a gritty television drama. It has the potential to be an intense character study on the effects of money, power and corruption, all within the departments of people we call to for help. It already has the procedural element to it, promising a slew of case by case episodes. There is even the traditional buddy cop pairing between Ludlows relentless cop character and the straight laced, by the book Paul Diskant, played by Chris Evans. Though cop dramas dominate the primetime airways, any cable channel will welcome more of them every season, especially a drama with the tight premise of Street Kings.