# Which of television's fair female cops do you actually buy as a police officer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013 "2012-10-07T19:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/1 "2012-10-07T19:26:39Z")
American television is replete with shows about police officers, FBI agents, and other law enforcement types. Once upon a time the protagonists of these shows were almost men, but nowadays it’s more common than not for there to be at least one or two women in the mix, and more often than not those women are extremely pretty at a minimum, and frequently high-fashion beautiful. Thinking _only_ of the remarkably beautiful (i.e., leaving out women like Tyne Daly or the wonderful S. Epatha Merkerson), what actresses in such roles are most believable to you, and why? ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/2 "2012-10-07T19:36:20Z")
Dani Reese (played by Sarah Shahi) on the short-lived **Life**. Not only did she have the requisite tough attitude, but she looked the part as well. Yes, Shahi is a ridiculously beautiful woman, but at least during the first season, the show went to great lengths not to glamorize her. She always wore flat-soled shoes, plain black pants, a loose white button-down shirt, and an old leather jacket, with her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail (and not the kind of messy that takes an hour to achieve). Unfortunately, in the second season, Reese ended up frequently wearing much tighter, sexier clothes and just generally looking more like a model than a cop. I always suspected network interference intended to boost the show’s sex appeal :rolleyes:. The attitude pretty much remained the same, at least. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/3 "2012-10-07T20:19:42Z")
Judy Marte on the even shorter-lived _NYC22_. I was a big fan of Dani Reese on _Life_, but her character on her USA series, _Fairly Legal_, weakened her previous work in my eyes. Unfair, I know, and I generally try not to do that, but it is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/4 "2012-10-07T20:21:15Z")
“Pepper” Anderson (Angie Dickensen) - She looked like she could punch a hole through any criminal (or cop, for that matter) who gave her any shit. Stacy Sheridan (Heather Locklear) - But only when she was undercover as a hooker. FBI Special Agent Jordan Shaw (Dana Delaney) - Delaney as a 2 episode guest star was more believable than Stana Katic has been in 5 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/5 "2012-10-07T20:24:46Z")
Does Maria Bello count? She’s 45 but still smokin’, and I totally bought her as a tough gritty cop in “Prime Suspect”. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/6 "2012-10-07T20:38:18Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Judy Marte on the even shorter-lived _NYC22_. > > I was a big fan of Dani Reese on _Life_, but her character on her USA series, _Fairly Legal_, weakened her previous work in my eyes. Unfair, I know, and I generally try not to do that, but it is what it is. Weakened how, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/7 "2012-10-07T20:41:24Z")
[Lacey!](http://www.popentertainment.com/dalygless.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/8 "2012-10-07T20:42:54Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > FBI Special Agent Jordan Shaw (Dana Delaney) - Delaney as a 2 episode guest star was more believable than Stana Katic has been in 5 seasons. QFT. And, thinking back to the Tyne Daly from the Dirty Harry movie, I think excluding her from the mix is a bit inappropriate. I found the police captain (sorry, don’t have access to IMDB right now) in Saving Grace to be perfectly believable and reasonably gorgeous. I also found Helen Hunt to be staggeringly attractive, but not fashion-model-wise. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/9 "2012-10-07T20:52:42Z")
**The Wire** had two excellent and believable female cops: Amy Ryan as Beadie Russell and Sonja Sohn as Det. Kima Greggs. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/10 "2012-10-07T20:55:18Z")
[Yancy Butler as Sarah Pezzini](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4275411200/nm0000319) in the _Witchblade_ series struck me as a pretty believable cop, and certainly attractive. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/11 "2012-10-07T21:06:16Z")
Wendi McLendon-Covey as Deputy Clementine Johnson in Reno 911! (The exclamation point belongs to the title; it is not representative of any enthusiasm.) A real-world comparison to some LEOs I’ve known. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/12 "2012-10-07T21:46:37Z")
I’m going to go with Stana Katic from _Castle_. Sure, she does look like a model, but a) They are not trying to disguise that fact, like in your average cop show, where nobody seems surprised by top models being detectives, and b) There’s a certain weariness in her that actually makes her a believable tough cookie. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/13 "2012-10-07T22:02:31Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Weakened how, exactly? She seemed older in _Life_, and certainly tougher than her character in the few episodes I watched of _Fairly Legal_. When I watched an episode of _Life_ on Netflix, suddenly she seemed younger and trying too hard, versus an experienced, tough detective. I’m usually good about keeping actors’ characters separate from show-to-show, but for some reason I couldn’t go back and see her the same in _Life_ as I did when it originally aired. But that’s all on me. Maria Bello is a great choice. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/14 "2012-10-08T09:45:28Z")
[Laura Fraser](http://media.mademan.com/chickipedia/uploaded_photos/b/b6/Laura_Fraser-sexy-smoking-hot-soft-chickipedia-babe-before_thumb_585x795.jpg) in Conviction. BBC thing, only eight episodes. Elaine Cassidy in Ghost Squad, not a particularly believable programme, but I think the thick Norn Iron accent made her considerably more plausible as a copper. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/15 "2012-10-08T09:47:00Z")
Best by far was Melissa Leo in homicide. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/16 "2012-10-08T09:59:33Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > **The Wire** had two excellent and believable female cops: Amy Ryan as Beadie Russell and Sonja Sohn as Det. Kima Greggs. Thankyou. Agreed. I never noticed their attractiveness or even thought of them in those terms. Women who were police just doing the Job. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/17 "2012-10-08T11:25:25Z")
Kay Howard from **Homicide: Life on the Street** ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/18 "2012-10-08T11:28:47Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > FBI agents, and other law enforcement types. Once upon a time the protagonists of these shows were almost men, Best typo ever. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/19 "2012-10-08T13:34:45Z")
Well, Inspector Meg Thatcher (Camilla Scott) and Francesca Vecchio (Ramona Milano) of _Due South_ are worth mentioning. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/20 "2012-10-08T14:50:37Z")
My vote’s on Holly Hunter’s character Grace Hanadarko on Saving Grace. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013.md?page=2)