Forspoken Delayed To January

 The Precinct has a lot of things going for it – a noir ‘80s vibe, plenty to play with in its sandbox, and an attempt to hew faithfully to what the rules of policing are. It’s also clearly trying to emulate the cop dramas of yore, which I’m sure some people are nostalgic for. In its popularity, it has often been compared to Grand Theft Auto, except you’re the cops. It is very much not that.

You’re a cop fresh out of the academy, assigned to the same precinct your late father was the chief of, until he was killed in the line of duty. Your job is, ostensibly, to protect the people, clean up the city, and shoot criminals dead in the streets.

You don’t need me to tell you why this might be contentious. It’s only been a few years since we saw mass protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which was largely centered around the excessive use of force by police officers and calls for the abolition of the policing institution altogether.

We’ve seen modern cop dramas adjust how they tell stories so as to accommodate contemporary views of policing – crime shows still have law enforcement as the protagonists, but the good guys are now more aware of the power they wield, thanks to cultural consultants brought into the writing room.

I like Brooklyn 99 as much as the next person. I’m not immune to Andy Samberg’s charms. But it’s difficult to watch shows like this now, knowing just how far the good guy image is from reality. These shows being more mindful of the stories they tell helps to make it sting less. The Precinct has no such delicacy, at least as far as I can tell from the demo I played.