I heard about this show and since I come from NY/NJ and from an Irish catholic family of firemen, of course, I'm watching this. It's authentic, it's gritty, not pretty, but then, you don't know firemen - they're running into burning buildings when everybody else is running out, and are a breed unto themselves, an essence that Leary and Co. have captured.
So, if you ever have an opportunity to go to a 'wetdown' or a fundraiser (See Bayhead NJ crabfest in Aug. -" If you don't' come to our fundraiser, we ain't coming to your fire" )- you see real men, some of them boneheads, some of them rocket scientists, but always for real. This very edgy drama and esp. Leary's character shows the dark side, and his 'secret evil plan' instead of whitewashing every guy as a hero, as competent or even, sober. I love that the moral center keeps shifting underneath their feet, just as in real life. There's a million stories in the Naked City, and "Rescue Me" could tell them all.
I've been waiting for a show like this to come along because I practically grew up in a firehouse, and I know so did a million other kids in America. And, for those people who don't know any firemen, go adopt one or better yet, go volunteer.
