# Boomtown (2002 TV series)

Boomtown is an American action drama television series created by Graham Yost, that aired on NBC from September 29, 2002 to December 28, 2003. The show's title is a nickname for its setting: Los Angeles, California.

## Overview

The show portrayed a criminal investigation each week, seen from various points of view: the police officers and detectives, the lawyers, paramedics, reporters, victims, witnesses, and criminals.
The series premiered on September 29, 2002. The first season order was for 18 episodes. After disappointing ratings, the series was retooled: the reliance on non-linear storytelling was lessened, some characters were written out, and others were introduced. Ratings did not improve, and the series was canceled, with the last episode airing on December 28, 2003.
Despite its low viewership, Boomtown received several awards and nominations, including Emmy Awards, Golden Satellite Awards, and Television Critics Association Awards.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Donnie Wahlberg as Los Angeles Police Department Detective II Joel Stevens
* Neal McDonough as Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney David McNorris
* Mykelti Williamson as Los Angeles Police Department Detective II Bobby 'Fearless' Smith
* Gary Basaraba as Los Angeles Police Department Police Officer III Ray Hechler
* Nina Garbiras as Andrea Little, a reporter (season one)
* Lana Parrilla as Teresa Ortiz, a paramedic in season one, and a rookie police officer in season two
* Jason Gedrick as Los Angeles Police Department Police Officer II Tom Turcotte

### Recurring

* Megan Ward as Kelly Stevens
* David Proval as Los Angeles Police Department Detective II Paul Turcotte
* Dorian Harewood as Los Angeles Police Department Captain Ron Hicks
* Kelly Rowan as Marian McNorris (season one)
* Erich Anderson as Ben Fisher (season one)
* Kim Murphy as Susan (season one)
* Matt Craven as Dr. Michael Hirsch (season one)
* Rick Gomez as Detective Daniel Ramos (season one)
* Kelly Hu as Rachel Durrel (season two)
* Vanessa L. Williams as Los Angeles Police Department Detective III Katherine Pierce (season two)

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 18 | 18 | September 29, 2002 (2002-09-29) | April 20, 2003 (2003-04-20) |
| 2 | 6 | 6 | September 26, 2003 (2003-09-26) | December 28, 2003 (2003-12-28) |

### Season 1 (2002–03)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code |
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Jon Avnet | Graham Yost | September 29, 2002 (2002-09-29) | 2101 |
| A drive-by shooting is investigated from several angles. We meet Fearless, detective and Gulf War veteran with a list of things to do before he dies, and a habit of telling stories; Joel, a detective who is still attempting to hide the suicide attempt of his wife Kelly; Teresa, the kind-hearted paramedic who was on duty the night of said attempt; David McNorris, the manipulative deputy district attorney; reporter Andrea Little, his secret mistress; Ray Hechler, a cop under suspicion of corruption; and his young partner Tom, a mediocre officer who is frequently criticized by his father. |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Possession" | Jon Avnet | Graham Yost | October 6, 2002 (2002-10-06) | 1002 |
| After a telemarketer overhears a murder plot on the phone, Joel, Fearless, Ray and Tom scramble to find him; while David and Andrea find the pressure of their affair building. |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Squeeze" | Jon Avnet | Michelle Ashford | October 13, 2002 (2002-10-13) | 1003 |
| A prominent attorney gets murder charges against him dropped, and everyone takes different paths in an attempt to get him to confess. |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Reelin' In the Years" | Bobby Roth | Laurence Andries | October 20, 2002 (2002-10-20) | 1004 |
| After Joel and Fearless solve the murder of Tom's father's former partner, Tom and Andrea face their past. |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "All Hallow's Eve" | Frederick King Keller | Graham Yost | October 27, 2002 (2002-10-27) | 1005 |
| On Halloween, David is stunned when Andrea breaks up with him on the same night that Marian accuses him of adultery; Ray and Tom go undercover to stop pumpkins thieves; while Joel and Fearless try to save Teresa - whose ambulance has been hijacked. |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Freak" | Jon Avnet | Michelle Ashford | November 3, 2002 (2002-11-03) | 1006 |
| Ray and Tom investigate a bizarre case while Fearless risks his life to save a little girl, because of a haunting memory of an old war buddy. |||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Insured by Smith & Wesson" | Peter Werner | Story by : Chris Brancato & Albert J. Salke Teleplay by : Chris Brancato | November 10, 2002 (2002-11-10) | 1008 |
| When Ray goes undercover into a hostage situation inside a sporting goods store, he discovers that the store manager is a former actor of Ray's favorite 1980s TV show. While attempting to convince the manager to help him save the day, Ray's illusions are shattered. |||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Crash" | Jeremy Kagan | Fred Golan | November 17, 2002 (2002-11-17) | 1009 |
| Fearless's ex-girlfriend joins him and Joel on a case to crack an insurance fraud ring. |||||||
| 9 | 9 | "The David McNorris Show" | Peter Werner | Laurie D. Arent | December 1, 2002 (2002-12-01) | 1010 |
| While Joel and Fearless investigate the death of a teenage girl, McNorris makes some dirty deals which collapse just as his marriage does. |||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Coyote" | Alex Zakrzewski | Ronald A. Burla | December 8, 2002 (2002-12-08) | 1007 |
| Joel and Fearless must convince Andrea to face a psychotic homeless man who she went to school with to find a kidnapped teenager. |||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Monster's Brawl" | Rodrigo García | Javier Grillo-Marxuach | January 5, 2003 (2003-01-05) | 1011 |
| On a tip from Teresa, Joel, Fearless, Tom and a slowly falling apart David team up to convict a group of filmmakers inspiring homeless people to kill each other. Guest star: Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Corman. |||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Sinaloa Cowboys" | Michael W. Watkins | Graham Yost | January 12, 2003 (2003-01-12) | 1012 |
| A simple domestic disturbance call becomes a life-changing event for Ray and Tom as they find themselves in the middle of a drug war, while Joel and Teresa grow closer. |||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Home Invasion" | Tucker Gates | Joel Anderson Thompson | March 2, 2003 (2003-03-02) | 1013 |
| Joel and Fearless must reluctantly let Andrea in on their case when they discover a group of killers who stake out a family home before torturing and killing the family. |||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Execution" | Jon Avnet | Laurence Andries | March 9, 2003 (2003-03-09) | 1014 |
| On the night of his execution, a criminal gives McNorris an ultimatum: save his life or risk the death of a kidnapped cop. While McNorris attempts to save him, Ray and his fellow officers attempt to take a more pragmatic course, unaware of what they are up against. |||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Storm Watch" | Jon Avnet | Story by : Chris Brancato & Kevin Dunigan Teleplay by : Chris Brancato | March 16, 2003 (2003-03-16) | 1015 |
| Ray, Joel, Tom and Fearless are locked down in the station along with their fellow cops when a mole is suspected and Ray has no choice but to ask Andrea - who almost cost him his badge a year earlier - to help; meanwhile McNorris continues on a downward spiral. |||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Fearless" | Frederick King Keller | Story by : Graham Yost & Mykelti Williamson Teleplay by : Graham Yost | March 30, 2003 (2003-03-30) | 1016 |
| In a rather different episode (featuring only one point of view, Fearless's), Fearless investigates the shooting of a drug dealer, and faces his past. |||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Blackout" | Jack Bender | Fred Golan | April 13, 2003 (2003-04-13) | 1017 |
| With his wife having left him, and Andrea refusing to take him back, McNorris finds himself drinking into blackouts, which ultimately leads him to wake up with blood on his car. When he learns about a hit-and-run incident, he begins to act fearfully, and his suspicions tip off Joel, who is working with Fearless, Ray and Tom to crack the case. |||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Lost Child" | Frederick King Keller | Michelle Ashford | April 20, 2003 (2003-04-20) | 1018 |
| Already agonizing over his feelings for Teresa, Joel is put on the case of a kidnapped newborn. While Fearless, Andrea, Ray and David (preparing for rehab) investigate, Joel finds himself finally confronting his wife's suicide attempt and the death of their newborn daughter; while Tom finds himself being coerced into snitching on Joel. |||||||

### Season 2 (2003)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code |
| 19 | 1 | "The Love of Money" | Jon Avnet | Graham Yost | September 26, 2003 (2003-09-26) | 2001 |
| Joel, Fearless, Ray and Tom work together to investigate a group of cop killers, who threaten Joel's family. Joel has Robbery/Homicide detective Katherine Pierce reassigned to their division to assist. Meanwhile, David recovers in rehab and Teresa considers her future. Guest star: Rebecca De Mornay as Sabrina Fithian. |||||||
| 20 | 2 | "Inadmissible" | Jon Avnet | Anne McGrail | October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) | 2002 |
| Ray and Katherine testify against the cop killers; David comes out of rehab and gets straight onto the case despite his recent alcoholism; and Teresa joins the police academy. Guest stars: Rebecca De Mornay as Sabrina Fithian, Stacy Keach as Mac McNorris, and Roma Maffia as Sally Jacobson. |||||||
| 21 | 3 | "Wannabe" | Jon Avnet | Fred Golan | December 27, 2003 (2003-12-27) | 2003 |
| Joel and Fearless investigate when Teresa discovers a body at the police academy; Ray, Tom and Katherine work to stop a gang of thieves who pose as police officers. |||||||
| 22 | 4 | "Haystack" | Frederick King Keller | Clyde Phillips | December 27, 2003 (2003-12-27) | 2004 |
| A gang of fleeing bank robbers take a group of hostages at a shopping center, including Teresa. |||||||
| 23 | 5 | "The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang" | Kevin Hooks | Laurence Andries | December 27, 2003 (2003-12-27) | 2005 |
| A frat boy killed and buried in the wall of a frat house twenty years ago is found, and David, Katherine, Joel and Fearless investigate. Guest star: LeVar Burton as Marvin Lloyd. |||||||
| 24 | 6 | "The Big Picture" | Frederick King Keller | Laurie D. Arent | December 28, 2003 (2003-12-28) | 2006 |
| Not following his instincts on a domestic disturbance call, Tom is horrified when the woman goes missing and the chief suspect is murdered; so he works with Katherine in a desperate effort to find the truth. Guest star: Virginia Madsen as Erika Ashland. |||||||

## Reception
### Critical response

Boomtown received largely positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has an approval rating of 96% with an average score of 10/10 based on 26 reviews. The website's critical consensus is, "Boomtown gives the police procedural innovative pep with its dense ensemble and warring perspectives, bringing a refreshing moral ambiguity to primetime." On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 89 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, signifying "universal acclaim".

### Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Boomtown :
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2003 | American Film Institute Award | TV Program of the Year | | Won |
| 2003 | Casting Society of America's Artios Award | Best Casting for TV, Dramatic Pilot | Meg Liberman and Camille H. Patton | Nominated |
| 2003 | Imagen Foundation Award | Best Supporting Actress - Television | Lana Parrilla | Won |
| 2003 | NAACP Image Award | Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | Mykelti Williamson | Nominated |
| 2003 | Online Film & Television Association Award | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Neal McDonough | Nominated |
| 2003 | Online Film & Television Association Award | Best Direction in a Drama Series | Jon Avnet (For the pilot episode) | Nominated |
| 2003 | Peabody Award | | NBC Studios, in association with DreamWorks Television Inc., and Nemo Films | Won |
| 2003 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | Philip Giffin | Nominated |
| 2003 | Television Critics Association Award | Program of the Year | | Nominated |
| 2003 | Television Critics Association Award | Outstanding Achievement in Drama | | Won |
| 2003 | Television Critics Association Award | Outstanding New Program | | Won |
| 2003 | Television Critics Association Award | Individual Achievement in Drama | Neal McDonough | Nominated |
| 2004 | Satellite Award | Best Television Series – Drama | | Nominated |
| 2004 | Satellite Award | Best Supporting Actor – Television Series – Drama | Neal McDonough | Won |

## DVD release

Lionsgate Home Entertainment release Season 1 of Boomtown on DVD in Region 1 on July 20, 2004. Season 1 was subsequently released in Region 2 as well. Despite strong sales of season one and popular demand on TV-DVD websites, season 2 was never released in the USA or UK. The season two episodes were made available, however, on the French DVD box set Boomtown Complet, which also includes a short interview with French film critic Alain Carraze, who offers comments about the show. The DVD's released in the United States contain an optional commentary soundtrack by individuals who were involved in making the show but this is absent from the French and British DVD releases.
The Region 1 release has been discontinued and is now out of print.