The Commish

***The Commish*** is an offbeat American police drama-comedy television series that aired on ABC in the United States from September 28, 1991, to January 11, 1996. The series focuses on the work and home life of a suburban police commissioner named **Anthony J 'Tony' Scali** in the fictional Eastbridge, New York.

The title of the show is an abbreviation of the 'commissioner' of police. The young commissioner has an easy-going manner and is very clever where solutions to difficult situations often require considerable creativity. Tony doesn't use weapons or brute force in his fight against crime but more of his intelligence.

Starring Michael Chiklis as the titular commissioner Tony Scali, an Italian American and a former Detective from NYPD who is now the police commissioner in the small fictional suburban New York town of Eastbridge, and tends to work through problems with humor and creativity more often than with violence or force.

Theresa Saldana, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Justine Cornborough, Dayna Cornborough with Geoffrey Nauffts, Melinda McGraw, Jason Schombing, John Cygan, Gina Belafonte, Nicholas Lea, Kimberly Scott, and David Paymer starred alongside Michael Chiklis as parts of the cast.

### Series Overview

*See also: List of episodes*
The show focused on family situations as well as police drama and dealt with a wide range of topical social issues such as police corruption, racism, homophobia, drug addiction, disabilities, child abuse, illegal immigration, and sexual harassment.

The original drama-comedy series was created by Stephen J. Cannell and Stephen Kronish alongside David Levinson via Three-Putt Productions, Stephen J. Cannell Productions, ABC Productions, and New World Entertainment (1995-1996).

Although the series aired on ABC, it was originally slated to be on CBS, but unresolved casting differences with CBS led Stephen J. Cannell to cease pre-production with that network. Eventually, Cannell took the series to ABC and it won the rating war with CBS for that time slot (Saturday nights at 10 pm).

### Season 1 (1991)

Season 1 starts with the murders of two police officers during their routine night tour. Commissioner Tony Scali was determined to get to the bottom of this, and in the process discover corruption in the Police Department and District Attorney's Office involving top officials and someone very close to him. The rest of the season is about how Tony has to juggle between work and his family live, especially when someone threatens his life. He also has to face the death of his closest friend and confidant and welcome his old best friend into his life. Tony's brother-in-law is living with him and is a pain in the butt but he has to handle the situation delicately.

### Season 2 (1992)

Tony has to fire the head of the detective also his best friend after an unfortunate incident where he killed a suspect. He has to deal with the aftermath of losing the friendship but at the same time accepts a new friendship with a former FBI agent who becomes his new head detective. His son David is involved in a school shooting and his wife Rachel is a witness to a robbery and a murder, which results in her being terrorized by the murderer. Ahead of a crime organization moves to Eastbridge and immediately butt heads with the police commissioner, and although the mob boss swears that he retires, Tony doesn't believe him.

### Season 3 (1993)

Tony is seeking justice and revenge against a cult-like youth shelter's leader when a teen goes missing. Tony thinks that the teen is murdered but nobody believes him, and everyone is accusing him of a witch hunt. For a while, he resigns from the force and becomes a private detective while his wife, Rachel, accepts a teaching position in a different city. When he gets his job back, he has to investigate and support Rachel who is being framed for a crime she didn't commit. At the same time, his subordinates are facing problems on their own. Cyd is being terrorized by a stalker, and Stan is dating a girl with a mysterious past.

### Season 4 (1994)

After the death of his closest friend and confidant, Tony is being targeted by an assassin who manages to hurt him. Tony is afraid that he will never be a commissioner again and living a life with a disability. He is determined to be healthy again and move past the tragedy with support from his family and friends. Tony is also being accused of sexually harassing a co-worker and his name is being dragged through the mud, even his wife has her doubts. At the same time, his detectives have some problems of their own; Paulie is entangled with a love triangle and Ronnie is on trial for killing an unarmed robber. Tony also faces a problem when his mother is having an affair with a well-known mobster, and the mob family is trying to kill his dad.

The last episode of the season is a backdoor pilot for a new show starring a character named Connie Muldoon, a tough detective from NYPD. Tony works with her to solve a string of murders especially when his friend's daughter is murdered by a deranged serial killer.

### Season 5 (1995)

A death row prisoner claims that he is innocent and begs Tony to solve the case, and the commissioner is facing a dilemma between letting the man be executed or trying to prove whether the man is guilty or not. A woman with multiple personality disorder kills three older men, starting at the mayor's fundraiser, and a retired detective asks Tony for a consulting job to solve the murders. However, his friend will do anything even breaking the law to catch the killer, which Tony disapproves of his method. Rachel's father, Ben, is suspected as a bomber who puts an explosive device in a sweatshop with many immigrant workers. He is also suspected to be involved with a White Supremacist organization and corruption when Rachel discovers he hides a lot of money.

### Cast and Characters

*See also: List of characters*
* Michael Chiklis as Commissioner Tony Scali
* Theresa Saldana as Rachel Scali
* Kaj-Erik Eriksen as David Scali
* Justine and Dayna Cornborough as Sarah Scali
* Geoffrey Nauffts as Sergeant Stanley 'Stan' Kelly
* Melinda McGraw as Detective Cydavia 'Cyd' Madison
* Jason Schombing as Detective Ronnie Lopez
* John Cygan as Lieutenant Paul 'Paulie' Pentangeli
* Gina Belafonte as Officer Carmela Pagan
* Nicholas Lea as Officer Ricky Caruso
* Kimberly Scott as Lucille
* David Paymer as Arnie Metzger

Theresa Saldana received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in 1994.

The Commish is available to watch now on FilmRise and Roku Channel for free.