10-8
Sunday 8/7c

Starring: Christina Vidal, Scott William Winters, Danny Nucci, Ernie Hudson, Travis Schuldt, Alex Meneses, Miguel Sandoval

From Spelling Television and the producer of "Oz" and "Homicide: Life on the Streets," comes the one-hour drama, "10-8," an edgy, humorous take on the L.A. Sheriff department's rookies and their trainers, from the front lines to the patrol cars.

As a kid growing up in New York, Rico Amonte was always just one step ahead of the latest vendor or bodega owner he happened to be ripping off. After his early years as a street tough, Amonte was brought out to Los Angeles by his older brother, an LAPD detective in the Robbery/Homicide division.

Two years later, the 28-year-old Amonte is a graduate of the Los Angeles Sheriff's department and, as a deputy trainee, is now chasing the bad guys. A little older and, maybe in his own mind, a little wiser, Amonte's background doesn't give him any edge as far as his fellow sheriffs are concerned. In fact, it's a rite of passage for the trainees to be tested (read: hazed) by the training officers to separate those who are up to the task from those who may not make it through a shift alive.

But while the relationship between trainees and their training officers can be rough, these new partners must be immediate brothers and sisters-in-arms, protecting and backing each other up at any cost and in any situation. Their jurisdiction stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the San Bernardino Mountains, from suburban valleys to urban streets, from Bel Air to South Central. A day in the lives of these officers can range from peaceful to violent, from sexy to dangerous -- and just about everything in between.

Amonte's New York street smarts and ex-thug toughness are no match for his training officer, Senior Deputy John Henry Barnes, a veteran policeman for whom law enforcement is a calling. It's up to Barnes to teach Amonte the ropes, with the patrol car as the classroom. But the pair's vastly different backgrounds give them completely different attitudes on how to work the streets, and while Amonte's irreverent style can get the job done, it's rarely in a way that Barnes would call police procedure.

Barnes, for his part, counts on his twenty-three years in the force and his authoritative demeanor and knowledge of the street. Raised in South Central, he looks at police work as a chance to to some good, having watched the '65 riots from his front porch and the '92 riots from his squad car.

Among the other training officers are Deputy Sheriff Matt Jablonski, who truly believes he's God's gift to women, comedy and the badge; and Deputy Sheriff Anna Li [Meneses], a tough-as-nails cop who could hold her own with any male be it a police officer or a criminal. Jablonski is paired with trainee Gabriella Lopez, a young woman who carries ghetto baggage from her upbringing, which is what inspired her to become a police officer. Li is partnered with Chase Williams, a scholarly-looking, borderline geek whose life goal is to be District Attorney he joined the Sherrif's department to learn how to put people in jail before getting them convicted.

When Amonte and the other deputies begin their shifts, they call into dispatch -- "10-8" -- announcing that they and their squad cars are in-service and ready to respond to all calls.

Aaron Spelling, E. Duke Vincent and series creator Jorge Zamacona serve as executive producers of "10-8," which is produced by Spelling Television Inc. (a Paramount/Viacom company) in association with Touchstone Television. The series films at Calvert Studios.