Boston's Finest (2013– ) User Reviews

True to the City

[kymanne2007 · 10/10 · 28 March 2013]

I wonder how many of the people who gave this title negative reviews are actually from Boston. Boston is the type of place that, unless your from here, you won't get the 'inside jokes'.

This is no "Cops" which is more exploitative than meaningful or insightful. The officers of Boston's finest have a certain somber dignity about them, unquestionably dedicated to a job they love doing. They are brave, flawed and vulnerable.

People who criticize the shows slow pacing simply are missing the point entirely. Wahlberg is not trying to show you how ruthless the villains are and how bad-ass and rock & roll the good guys are. Instead of the sensational over-edited action excitement that is usually on the palate of American viewers, you get slower, well savored character development.

He is asking for more out of his viewers. Wahlberg won't fast food his city for the audience. He wants you to see that the good & bad guys are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and the very thin line between the two.

Donnie Wahlberg has done beautiful work displaying Boston's wonderful city and vibrant eclectic culture. He is trying to let outsiders in on the inside joke..I lived in Boston my whole life (41y.o) until four years ago when I moved out of the country. I get choked up every time the opening of the show comes on and ache for home hours after. At least I can visit home even if for just an hour.

Boston is a city that refuses to beg for your acceptance, it demands you to accept it as is, or leave it be, to the good or to the bad it does not make excuses for itself. That is the tone of Boston's finest. Well Done Donnie.

Boston's Finest is the Finest

[ceh1011 · 10/10 · 6 July 2013]

I loved Boston's Finest from the very first episode. I am a substance abuse counselor and i love television programming that deal with REAL life and not fantasy/horror/sci-fi, etc. but real life because this is the world in which we live. Thank you TNT and Donnie Walberg for sharing the lives and stories of men and women who risk their lives daily for the safety of others. Boston's Finest gives us a peak into the personal lives and work of law enforcement. Each episode is fresh, new and different and i applaud them to the highest extent. Anyone who watches this show should feel blessed and proud to live in a country when we think about our police officers. Again, thank you Mr. Walberg and TNT. I hope that your program will be around for years to come. And even if it isn't, thanks so much for sharing it with us for the time that we had. Keep it Up!!

It doesn't cut it

[maros612 · 2/10 · 29 August 2013]

The format of the show is unique, but that alone doesn't mean it's a good program. It's not a documentary per se and not a true reality either. The scene with twin sisters is horrible, the show tells us one of the twin sister is a respected PD member, while the other mess up with horrible life choices. When you get to see their meeting, it's obvious the sister is mentally challenged, which doesn't match the full extent of the picture the story the show claims. It's very boring compared to Southland or Blue Bloods. It also doesn't bring the convincing reality sense as C.O.P.S. I'm very disappointed and I am decided not to watch the show anymore.

Great Show

[dakingsr · 10/10 · 11 January 2014]

There's certainly no accounting for taste. This show is wonderful. It lacks violence, gore and sensationalism. If you're looking for these qualities in a cops show, wrong show. Boston's Finest is about the human side of these American Heroes. I love the way the show brings out the pride that these men and women take in providing security for their communities and for their families. I find the dedication to duty, to family and to community extremely admirable.

This show is great for the youth. It doesn't make cops look like high flying, gun toting thugs; it shows them as caring people committed to service, living with a sense of purpose. We should be teaching our children to live with a sense of purpose - purpose in the higher sense of making the world a better place, not just making a lot of money. Children, especially those growing up in poverty, need to see people from their communities living with a sense of purpose.

Keep up the great work Wahlberg.

Such a shame

[jonmccann · 4/10 · 8 March 2013]

I must admit, after the first episode I thought it had potential, but was intrigued by the real or fake issue so went with real! I think I maybe wrong, and the whole keep you guessing thing is quite silly really, if it is real, then oh dear lord such an embarrassment, if it's not well err see the previous sentence. For me, I liked the first episode showing the twin sisters, it was kind of good versus bad, but the second episode seemed to cap it all off for me...It has no distance. If you watch both episodes back to back it will make sense, notice any difference?! I also thought some of the supposed realistic issues were so far beyond realism that I did actually cringe.

I have to be honest, a week ago I would have rated this an eight, now its lucky for a four. Not only that, I have been far too willing to trust the Whalberg name with some of the successes that have been had, but this is down in the pits with blue bloods (which I will always stick to my opinion with, it only succeeds because of Tom sellecks name on the show) and some of the other stuff the Wahlbergs have tried.

Please, you had your fun singing, give us a rest!

Scripted or real?

[chollins · 5/10 · 1 March 2013]

OK - disclaimer here. I despise reality TV. I'm a fan of great writing and the reality TV surge of late has seen quality writing pushed onto the fringes of mainstream media.

Boston's Finest is not a huge stand out. It blends the awful Cops with great camera angles and sound effects. The production values are so high one has difficulty believing it's the fly on the wall series it pretends to be. Many shots are clearly set up or dramatised later.

Other than that, it is no different than any other reality show. We follow the lives of the boys and girls in blue as they clean up the streets. We get to see glimpses of their families and they give us narratives of their fears and motivations.

I'm not really sure if this is reality or carefully scripted to hoodwink the viewer. Either way the pilot episode didn't hold me enough to care so this won't become part of my viewing schedule.

Very Sleepy

[lasherxl · 1/10 · 6 March 2013]

So when I initially saw the reviews of this show I was not very hopeful, but as always I give things a shot only because there have been times when I misjudged a show prematurely. In this particular case I was not wrong.

Now first off let me state, I have massive respect for what these guys do and the danger they and other officers like them face to protect us. All that being said it the pacing is so slow, and it isn't helped at all by Mark Whalberg's somber narration. It sounds like Mark is getting ready to either take a nap or he's mired in a post Ambien haze.

I really do wish for Boston PD's sake this was as fun and interesting as the city of Boston is, but that did not happen here.

Gawd!

[barrywilliams993 · 1/10 · 7 March 2013]

I struggled to watch 20 minutes of this terrible show. The female cop that drones on and on about her dysfunctional family made me want to both puke and cut my own throat.

By the end of the first 20 minutes, I was like a wild animal caught in a leg trap: I was willing to gnaw off my own leg to escape. Thankfully, all I had to do was erase the recording from my DVR and move on to something worth watching. I don't remember what but I know it was better than this drivel!

You know the old saw: You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Wahlberg, you missed your chance with me. I won't be back.

SHEESH!

hard to watch - systemic racism

[nnnbooks · 3/10 · 24 November 2021]

This show is just that - a show.

Highlights the f%#&@*^$ personalities of many police officers.

The most annoying parts: - systemic racism. All of the suspects they hunted for major crime were black.

The worst were the patrol officers - many times they just looked for ways to lock someone up.

Personally, most cringeworthy was that patrol chick who was hitting on her partner so much that he switched to a different partner. She was so full of herself, and could not realize that nobody wanted her because she wasn't nice or pretty. And just for the show, she found her adict twin-sister to try to help her. Cringe worthy.