Gang Related Information

Gang Related was an American action drama television series that aired on Fox from May 22 to August 14, 2014. The network placed the original series order on May 8, 2013, for 13 episodes. On September 2, 2014, Fox cancelled the series.

Plot

The series follows the personal and professional lives of the members of the elite Los Angeles Police Department's multi-agency Gang Task Force as they take on the city's most dangerous gangs, including one with which a task force member has ties.

Opening Introduction: (narrated by Ramon Rodriguez)

Cast

Main cast

• Ramon Rodriguez as Ryan Lopez: an LAPD detective who was taken in and raised by the Acosta family at a young age after the death of his father when he was ten. He was born in a poor town in Mexico, and came to the United States illegally with his parents.
• Jay Hernandez as Daniel Acosta: son of the Acosta family who is working as an investment banker and is Ryan's childhood best friend.
• RZA as Cassius Green: DEA Agent and Ryan's second partner.
• Sung Kang as Tae Kim: FBI Agent and Veronica's partner. He has a sister, who does not move or speak.
• Inbar Lavi as Veronika "Vee" Dotsen: ICE Agent and Tae's partner. She was stuck by a needle and is uncertain if she will be HIV positive. Her brother, Anton, is in prison for life. They are Russian.
• Rey Gallegos as Carlos Acosta: older son of Acosta family who is a lieutenant of the "Los Angelicos" gang.
• Shantel VanSanten as Jessica "Jess" Mary Chapel: Assistant District Attorney of Los Angeles County who is also Sam Chapel's daughter and Ryan's girlfriend.
• Cliff Curtis as Javier Acosta: Head of the Los Angelicos and patriarch of the Acosta family. His parents were illegally working at a restaurant when it burned down and the illegal workers all died. Javier and other people still in the basement escaped, but not his parents.
• Terry O'Quinn as Sam Chapel: Head of the LAPD Gang Task Force and father of Jessica Chapel. Chapel goes rogue at times to achieve justice.

Recurring cast

• Emilio Rivera as Tio Gordo: right-hand man of the Los Angelicos
• Jay Karnes as Paul Carter: an LAPD Internal Affairs detective investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Ryan's partner
• Konstantin Lavysh as Anton Dotsen: brother of Vee Dotsen
• Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as Billy Cabrera: undercover agent working at Daniel's bank
• Lela Loren as Silvia: Daniel's fiance, she is implied to have lingering feelings for Ryan. She was Ryan's girlfriend before he joined the Army. They went their separate ways. Her name is tattooed on his arm. When he came back, she was with Daniel.
• Amaury Nolasco as Matias: killer working for Meta. He's famous for using his signature sledgehammer in executions.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (million)
ProdCode = 1WAZ79	Viewers = 2.93	ShortSummary = Ryan Lopez's partner James is killed by Carlos Acosta, but Ryan cannot arrest him because of his double life with the Los Angeles Gang Task Force and the Los Angelicos gang.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ01	Viewers = 3.15	ShortSummary = Ryan and the GTF try to find the rival gang members who shot Carlos in order to prevent it escalating into a gang war as well as to hide his own involvement in the matter. Elsewhere, Internal Affairs Agent Paul Carter (Jay Karnes) continues his investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Ryan's partner.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ02	Viewers = 2.86	ShortSummary = The GTF are tasked with protecting a Colombian informant who is about to testify in federal court, but are ambushed while moving him and his family to safety, forcing Ryan to choose between his Task Force duties and revealing the snitch's whereabouts to assist the Acosta family's quest for legitimacy.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ03	Viewers = 2.70	ShortSummary = The task force goes after the Russian mob expecting to find weapons when they uncover a human trafficking ring. Meanwhile Javier makes a deal to sell fishscale and puts his family in danger with the hopes that a deal will get them out.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ04	Viewers = 2.47	ShortSummary = Carlos wants to get involved with the business side of the family and joins the table. Meanwhile Cassius gets suspended after shooting a drugged up kid with a gun.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ05	Viewers = 2.41	ShortSummary = Chapel's CI leads the GTF to a major takedown of one of Javier's shipments. A truck was "painted" with the cocaine. Javier realizes he has a mole and tests his people. The CI gives Chapel a location of an even larger shipment, but it was a trap to out the mole.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ06	Viewers = 2.47	ShortSummary =Javier is in a tight spot after his large fishscale shipment was taken by the police. Daniel is kidnapped and Javier has 24 hours to come up with the lost fishscale money. Meanwhile Chapel is convinced that his department has a mole and goes into overdrive to find the perpetrator.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ07	Viewers = 2.34	ShortSummary = Javier continues to deal with the ramifications of the deal he made to get out of the business in 18 months. A man is killed to prove a point and if Javier's not careful, his family will end up dead too.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ08	Viewers = 2.64	ShortSummary = The search for the mole within the task force hits high gear. Chapel has the team do surveillance on a block party.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ09	Viewers = 2.40	ShortSummary = Los Angelicos seek revenge for what they perceive as Ryan's betrayal, while Jessica is shocked by a discovery about Ryan.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ10	Viewers = 2.27	ShortSummary = Ryan believes he'll be in the clear after having Javier arrested, but the police continue to pursue the mole. With the Acostas being tapped and followed, Ryan isn't able to contact them.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ11	Viewers = 2.01	ShortSummary = Ryan finds his secret duffle bag missing and heads to a safe house. He finds out that Jessica took it and reaches out to her to explain. Meanwhile Acosta gives up the Metas and the Gang Task Force takes down the drug lab and their bank. Also Jessica Chapel is murdered; her murderers are presumed to be the Metas in retaliation for a bust by GTF.	LineColor = FF2915 }}	ProdCode = 1WAZ12	Viewers = 2.36	ShortSummary = Chapel leads the team to Mexico in search of murder suspect Matias. Meanwhile, Daniel uses his wedding to broker a deal between Javier and Lavar Quintel. Ryan and Chapel find out that it was Javier that ordered the hit on Jessica. Ryan has Javier transferred to the Metas side of the prison where he is met with a welcome party.	LineColor = FF2915 }}

Critical reception

Reviews for the show were mixed. It currently holds a 42% approval rating with an average score of 5.7/10 on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus states: "Gang Related focuses more on being dark and edgy than delivering an original narrative, resulting in a fairly ordinary cop drama." It has also received mixed critical reception on Metacritic, with a Metascore of 52, signifying "mixed or average reviews".

Dorothy Rabinowitz at The Wall Street Journal wrote: "the writing is sharp, the atmosphere thick with tension from, among other things, car and foot chases". In contrast, The Hollywood Reporters Tim Goodman wrote: "it"?s pretty clear right away that you"?re dealing with a pile of clichs that, pushed together and financed, can never be more than dreadful".

Development

In January 2013, Fox announced that it had received a pilot order for the project.

In February 2013, Ramon Rodriguez was the first to be cast as the protagonist Ryan Lopez - a gang member sent in to infiltrate the LAPD. Shortly after, Sung Kang was cast in the role of Tae Kim, Asian gang specialist on loan from the FBI who refuses to celebrate Ryan"?s achievements because he considers Ryan"?s tactics dangerous and wasteful. Jay Hernandez later joined the cast as Daniel Acosta, gang lord Javier Acosta"?s son, and Ryan"?s best friend since childhood.

In March 2013, RZA and Cliff Curtis were then added to the cast with Curtis cast in the role of Javier Acosta, the head of one of the most dangerous gangs in Los Angeles. RZA was signed onto the role as Cassius Green Ryan"?s partner and best friend on the Gang Task Force originally from the tough streets of Oakland. Shantel vanSanten was cast in the days following as a doctor who treats Ryan for his bullet wound injuries and the daughter of the gang task force"?s captain. Tom Berenger was originally cast as Sam Chapel, a tough, dynamic police chief who oversees the Gang Task Force but was later replaced by Terry O'Quinn.

On May 8, 2013, Fox officially picked up Gang Related to series for 13 episodes.