THE GOOD COP: Season One: Who Is the Ugly German Lady?
Son’s on patrol, Dad’s on parole — a comic mystery for older viewers.
Should You Watch It?
This episode offers a comic homicide investigation complicated by a father’s loyalty to an old prison friend. The moral picture is complicated, but truth, justice, and protecting the innocent remain important values for the positive characters.
The episode is unevenly acted. Tony Danza upstages Josh Groban, while guest star John Carroll Lynch gives a good performance, even when the story asks him to stretch believability. Bloody crime-scene images, mild toilet humor, and other content make this inappropriate for young children.
If your household includes older children and adults who can handle those concerns, this episode is worth watching with discernment.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESTJ receives what appears to be a normal homicide investigation. His father, Tony, becomes involved when an old prison friend is accused of murder. Tony believes his friend is innocent and tries to help him while TJ works the case, putting father and son on opposite sides of the law.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is an entertaining but uneven episode. The series begins establishing a pattern in which TJ handles a seemingly normal homicide investigation while Tony becomes bizarrely entangled in the action.
Neither Josh Groban nor Tony Danza is great, but Danza upstages the miscast Groban by quite a bit. John Carroll Lynch is actually quite good as Tony’s fugitive friend, even when he is asked to push the boundaries of believability, such as hiding from TJ by playacting as a German woman.
The Worldview
The episode presents a complicated moral worldview. Escaping from prison is not specifically denounced by a character, but it ultimately does not benefit the fugitive. TJ’s “playing by the rules” works against him, while truth, justice, and protecting the innocent are key moral values for the positive characters. Most characters show a desire to do the right thing, and protecting an innocent man and putting a killer in jail are high priorities.
The episode’s central moral questions concern whether doing right is worth the cost and whether justice can be served when people compromise the rules. Scripture says, “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever” (Psalm 119:160).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
<strong>
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
</strong> A complicated moral worldview as escaping from prison is not denounced specifically by a character as wrong, but ultimately doesn’t profit the fugitive character, and where TJ’s “playing by the rules” actually works against him, and where truth and justice and protecting the innocent are key moral values of all positive characters, and a desire to do the right thing exists in most of the characters, and where protecting an innocent man and putting a killer in jail exist as high priorities; <strong>
Foul Language
</strong>Three crude jokes, one mild obscenity, one brief moment of toilet humor; <strong>
Violence
</strong> A bloody crime scene including a living victim with injuries and a dead victim with a gory head wound, one gruesome murder committed offscreen, one use of a gun to threaten someone, one violent struggle over a weapon; <strong>
Sex
</strong> One sexual joke; <strong>
Nudity
</strong> No nudity; <strong>
Alcohol Use
</strong> One scene in a bar with main characters actively drinking; <strong>
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
</strong> No smoking or drug content; and, <strong>
Miscellaneous Immorality
</strong>Breaking out of jail, many instances of moral relativism.
Talk About It
Four questions for the couch, the commute, or the couple bingeing it together.
Tony protects his friend even while his friend has escaped from prison. When does loyalty become a refusal to do what is right?
Proverbs 17:15 · Acts 5:29TJ tries to play by the rules, but the rules appear to work against him. How should you respond when doing right seems to make life harder?
Galatians 6:9 · Romans 12:21The characters value protecting the innocent and finding the killer. What does Scripture say about defending those who are vulnerable and pursuing justice?
Proverbs 31:8–9 · Micah 6:8The episode presents many instances of moral relativism. How can truth remain steady when people disagree about what is right?
John 17:17 · Psalm 119:160The Final Word
This is an uneven but entertaining mystery with a good guest performance and a complicated moral center. Its bloody images and crude humor make it unsuitable for younger children. For older children and adults who can weigh those concerns, WORTH WATCHING — OLDER CHILDREN AND ADULTS. For other family options, see.
