User reviews

I understand this is a pilot. So I am still going to give it a chance. I am 20 minutes into it right now and I want to turn it off. All that network money and you can't get RZA to lose his Shaolin accent? Nortenos in LA? Give me a break. This show has so much potential but the casting and plot is beyond stupid. At least Kurt Sutter attempts to be some what accurate in California Gang politics. The creator of this show must be a real douche bag in real life. This is the first time I have ever sensed it from watching a show. All you are doing is glamorizing criminal behavior in a bullshit fantasy way.

I wonder if Cliff Curtis longs for the day he can play a Polynesian shot caller, instead of always being casted as a Cartel or Mexican Gang leader. Regardless, the show has potential. FOX needs to step it up and gut the writers and maybe the creator of the show. Put somebody who knows what he is doing in charge.

5/30 Update: I guess I spoke too soon. That last episode was entertaining. I guess I wasn't stoned enough when I watched the pilot. I think this show will evolve into something good. Hopefully "Shield" level. Cliff Curtis is a very convincing shot caller. Upgraded from 3 to 6 stars.

6/6 Last update: When I am wrong, I am wrong. Show is getting better with each episode. Cliff Curtis is a bad mofo. Upgrading this to 8.

I know that it's just TV, but the premise that the LAPD would hire any gang member without knowing about it is false on its face. Absent political misdirection and interference, background investigations on potential new hires, working gang units and intelligence files would have early-on identified and disqualified a gang affiliate for police service.

What's missing in this somewhat naive story about the LAPD and gang influence, are the truer underlying facts that had helped destroy the full credibility of a once incorruptible LAPD.

The Department had been forced by the City's liberal and politically correct politicians to hire some police recruits who had criminal records, including a few who were documented gang members.

One of the results was "The Rampart Scandal." Look it up. The core cause was the City's so-called "diversifying" hiring standards. These are the same standards that hired the likes of convicted Officer Rafael Perez, the core cause of the "Rampart Scandal" and subsequent public distrust of the underlying culture of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The L.A. Times reported in May of 2003 that Ruben Palomares, a former Rampart Division officer awaiting sentencing on drug trafficking charges in San Diego, was being investigated for allegedly overseeing a ring of drug and robbery suspects suspected of committing dozens of robberies in Southern California over several years. Current or former officers of the LAPD, Long Beach Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were also involved. Other members of the ring, which was believed to number more than a dozen people, included security guards and a professional female boxer. Also named was a prison guard and former Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy Rodrigo Duran.

Another alleged member of the ring was LAPD Officer William Ferguson, "who had been arrested five times before he was hired by the department." Ferguson had also worked at Rampart during the same time as Perez, and had a string of disciplinary problems at the LAPD. This is further concrete evidence that the liberal hiring standards that accompanied affirmative action programs instilled in Los Angeles and elsewhere, continue to be directly responsible for the degrading of both the reputation and effectiveness of law enforcement everywhere.

But watch it. Very entertaining. Even for me.

Okay, I watched the next episode. Getting harder to watch. Far too unrealistic. Gangs don't have that much power to operate in LA.

Richard M. Holbrook, author of "Political Sabotage: The LAPD Experience; . . . . . ."

This was a great show I don't know why Fox canceled this series, Season 1 was addicting and a great binge watch, If you haven't seen this please don't hesitate!!

I really enjoyed it! I had to write a review because everyone was hating on it. It kept me on the edge of my seat! I had no idea what to expect! I really like the main character and thought he did an awesome job! That is a hard role to play! I really got into it. I don't believe there is any show like this one. Its one of a kind! Its really heavy, in my opinion, because there are huge deaths, and it doesn't follow the norms of what is right and what is wrong. Its out there! Im a huge fan already, and Thursday night just became my favorite night! Great job to all of you who put this together and i hope it ends as well as it started! Im so glad i got another great series to follow! What a ride!!!

Gang Related offers tremendous promise; well cast, stylistic in design, emotional and character driven, by the second episode, I was already hooked. The show takes place in Los Angeles, and follows Ryan Lopez, an esteemed detective of a gang task force, struggling to distance himself from his past (and current) connections to a notorious Latino gang. Ryan's story feels very well-crafted, and it's easy to sympathize with his position, being a double agent who truly wants to do the right thing. As a devoted fan of Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad (the later of which is similar in story-line), I think Gang Related could become one of the more stimulating, edgier shows on the Fox network. Some viewers complain about the lack of vulgar language coming from the gang members. I think this is purely idiotic. Yes, we know networks are limited in certain ways, but slighting a show based on lack of profanity says more about the viewer than it does the creators. The show also has a great soundtrack, and the cinematography and set-design is fantastic. But above all, there is a great story to be told, so if you're into that kind of thing, you know, TV shows that actually tell stories and delve into dimensional characters, then give Gang Related a chance.

LAPD detective Ryan Lopez (Ramon Rodriguez) is the new young buck in the Gang Task Force. Sam Chapel (Terry O'Quinn) leads the task force and his daughter Jessica (Shantel VanSanten) is the assistant D.A. Jessica and Ryan start dating but nobody knows his deep dark secret. He's been the undercover mole for crime lord Javier Acosta (Cliff Curtis). He was the childhood friend to Daniel Acosta (Jay Hernandez) and has essentially been adopted into the family after his father's death. Javier Acosta claims to be transitioning the family into legitimate business. However the drug business keeps pulling the family deeper and deeper. Daniel is trying to be a legal investment banker. Javier's other son Carlos (Reynaldo Gallegos) is a street thug.

This is a perfectly fine cops and criminals TV serial. While there isn't anything particularly new, this had a chance of developing into something better. The most important ingredient is the acting talent involved. Ramon Rodriguez is a solid lead. Terry O'Quinn is also pretty good. The best is Cliff Curtis. He has always been a compelling actor. He's not simply an one-dimensional villain. He is the reason that this show is better than the material.

Very hard to put Mexican characters on TV and make them believable ... Even better that Curtis C is part of the cast (of course he's not real :) but rocks his role) .. Personally I watch TV and/or read a book to get away from real life so if there are inconsistencies and as long as they are not TOO far off the mark then it's OK ... This is a good show so far .. Lots of action, different character types, villains ... Yea it pretty much has it all .... 'Ryan' is trying to keep his 'familia' happy which makes him unhappy .. He second guesses himself which also leads to trouble .. He's trying to balance both sides of the law and it's a bumpy road.... Try it out I don't think you'll be disappointed .

Fans of former FX show "The Shield" will love "Gang Related".

The show started off good and after the last few episodes, its reach GREAT status. Especially episode 7 (stealing back the Fish Scale). The acting is great, the story lines are somewhat believable. It does have a few faults -

No.1 - I love Javier Acosta (Cliff Curtis) and without him...perhaps this show is a dud. Yet when you have him speaking Spanish, you can tell he's not Mexican. This is especially evident when he's speaking with Los Metas member Miguel Salazar. It's not a deal breaker, just an observation.

No.2 - Gang Members don't wear bandannas across there forehead. I see this all the time and I just don't understand why Hollywood keeps making this mistake. If you have to have a bandanna on a gang member. Have it place around his throat, in the same manner someone might place it just before a robbery to partially cover there face. Just don't place it on there foreheads, it's not the 80's! Besides that, the rest of the gang members in the show, actually look like what you would see in the hood. I would suggest you have Carlos razor shave his head...we don't do fades.

Besides those small mistakes, I love this show. I've recommended it to my friends and all of them are now hook. Hopefully it gets picked up for a few more seasons.

PS. I've read news stories of Mexican's dislike how Gang Related portrays them. I'm Mexican and I have no issue at all. Would you rather be portrayed as a High School teacher who makes Meth? Or perhaps a leader of a Biker Gang? Both of these two shows give you a man who is good at heart and yet has to make some decisions that you may not understand. Yet, they do it for there FAMILY. Which is why I love Gang Related, S.O.A, The Shield and Breaking Bad.

I still don't get it why fox cancelled this serie.. i watched it on 2014 i loved it then .. and i just watched it on 2020 and still love it.. big mistake.. because there is a whole story still to tell..

The show in one word (promising), it has a little bit of (The Departed) and (The Shield). Also there are angles to the story other than the main one which is double agent for mob and the police. The action does not take over the drama and that is very good from famous action writer. The acting is good from the police squad and the gang especially the paralyze character. Finally the reason for why I watch this show is because of its story that reminds me of martin Scorsese magnificent piece of art The Departed, and the hot beautiful actress Shantel VanSanten just look at the poster and you will know what I mean.

Why was this not renewed for at least 2 or 3 more seasons? 🤔 Its got everything, compared with some of the crap been made dat run fr 5 and 6 seasons this show deserved more, highly recommended

This series gets better every week. Tonight, the series finale, was phenomenal. The first few episodes were good, but as the series progresses, it gets better and better and better. I'm sorry now that I have to wait till the next season to pick up where they left off. Actors are fantastic, and of course, so are the writers. There are some good shows on TV, i.e. the Tbe Black List, Bluebloods, Black Box, Rush, Hawaii 50, Nashville, Revenge, and I am enjoying every single one of them PLUS many more; and I have to say, that Gang Related is up there with the best! Don't LET THEM CANCEL THIS ONE!!!! Too many of the good ones have been canceled, and this one has to stay.

With the slew of terrible reality shows or unwatchable dramas, Gang Related is a breath of fresh air (especially on Fox). I know some people say something like this is impossible to believe or it's impractical. So what? It's entertaining and it's good. So many shows are cancelled before the have a possibility to show their true potential and for it being this early on it's unbelievably interesting. Also, has no one ever seen Donnie Brasco? It's just a reverse situation instead of cop infiltrating mob ,it's mob infiltrating police. Fighting to do good while protecting his own. The show has an amazing cast of actors and it shows in GR. I think the only mistake we could make with this show is letting it slip away without seeing it through. Is Ryan a pawn to the ones he loves or is he really family. Someone who is willing to do anything for the people closest to him despite being on the edge of what's right and what's wrong ,and where he stands as an officer and a family member. Is there more corruption than meets the eye? Will the mistakes of some cost lives of others,or jealousy? It's nice to get a show like this that feels like a movie every time I watch it. If your a fan of shows like Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy, or movies like Blood In Blood Out this is for you.

From the pilot on, this did catch my attention. It is fast paced, action packed, thrilling. Acting is good. With Ramon Rodriguez, Jay Hernandez(both whom I am a huge fan of), Terry O'Quinn, RZA, Sung Kang and Cliff Curtis. I had huge expectations with them all being in this, they did not let me down. Guaranteed quality work from all cast. Every episode I am waiting to air. All episodes have their own story that grows the series, and the continuous line underneath. In all, the story line is different a bit from the usual, which adds its own twist and flavour. I can't wait to see how this will turn out. Overall acting is good, action scenes well done, car chases. My score for this, perfect 10.

Or, at least, the pilot - as that's all I've seen so far.

Like one other reviewer, about 17 minutes I almost gave up and stopped watching, but ended up making it through the entire pilot. I have followed and appreciated Ramon Rodriguez, Jay Hernandez, Sung Kang and Cliff Curtis for YEARS, am fans of all four and that's the primary reason I watched this ...

But whoever the HELL cast RZA should be banned from working in the entertainment industry for life. He can't act for crap, his words are often slurred to the point you can't understand about a fourth of what he's saying, and he's just so unbelievable in every scene he is in, it throws you out of what emotional involvement you have invested in that scene - or even the series.

Add to that stereotype upon stereotype, mix it up with a lot of violence (which, I guess, you would need to expect in a series called "Gang Related"), and even a lead character you can't really like or empathize with because he's (well, no spoilers here; if you've seen the pilot, you know what I mean) ... and it all adds up to a weak pilot that is going to have a looooooooong way to go in order to last as a series. Not sure I'll even watch episode two.

REALLY wanted to like this, too. Damnit.

How on earth can something as good as this be cancelled?

Like The Chicago Code, FOX has absolutely No Clue when they have a gem on their hands. A show that makes you think instead of insulting your intelligence. So many stinkers out there and this is what they choose to cancel-smh. Smart, complicated, layered characters, difficult and uncomfortable story lines. This show had so much potential, but no... Rupert Murdoch will surely remain a mortal enemy of this TV viewer. Much like when Firefly was cancelled except there has been no outcry from the masses over this show or The Chicago Code. So I guess we are essentially getting what we deserve, more and more mindless codswallop TV. More and more profane & lascivious pseudo fantasy, more ridiculous fairy tales twisted to include any and all characters. I had high hopes I thought FOX had maybe not stepped on their own ==== on this one but nope I was wrong.

We love this show! We had stopped watching anything police, and thought we would give the show a chance, and glad we did. Haven't liked many shows since breaking bad, and we Love Gang related. Hope you give the show a chance and renew for a second season. We also prefer, Gang Related over 24 any day. I can see where the show could go with the different plots in the story. Ryan is a good guy with a major delis a, and hope to see how this plays out. TV has gotten stale, Hope this show is kept, get rid of shows Like, Hells Kitchen, and some of The other Fox reality shows. Gang related also gives a sense of the illegal drug trade And the dangers associated with it.

No reason to take it off. It was rated a great show aswell.

First 15 minutes played out like a bad Starsky & Hutch episode couldn't bear to watch any more than the first 20 minutes of the pilot it was so awful especially the part when the gang boss slaps the young boy on his freshly broken arm as he returns his dead fathers watch to him, sob, sob, so very Disney.... Characters very unconvincing and the clichés were being bandied about like rice at a wedding that you know is not going to last. Come back Southland the only convincing cop drama to have emerged in recent years why are we constantly being subjected to very badly written crime dramas ? For goodness sake why is every single character always portrayed as very good looking and perfectly groomed ?

I am loving this series. It started well snd has got better snd better each week, going from strength to strength. If you liked Peaky Blinders you'll love this. Characters and scripts are excellent. You will not regret watching this x.