Laying down the law

Edie Falco stars as LA’s first female police chief in a cop drama that tackles tough issues

- REBECCA MAHONEY

Edie Falco has built an unrivalled career playing TV’s most formidable women. Now, The Sopranos and Nurse Jackie star is adding another trailblazer to the list – the hardball police chief in Alibi’s new cop drama, Tommy.

The 12-part series opens with former high-ranking NYPD officer Abigail Thomas, better known as ‘Tommy’, moving to the West Coast to take up her post as LA’s first-ever female chief of police amid a storm of questions and controversy.

As the first woman – and the first gay woman – in the job, Tommy feels she has a lot to prove, especially as she is surrounded by resentful allies of her predecessor, Milt Leakey (LA Law’s Corbin Bernsen), who was forced out after sexual-harassment scandals.

But Tommy is soon thrown in at the deep end when she’s tasked with negotiating a stand-off between immigration agents and an LAPD officer who tries to help an undocumented Mexican mother and her 12-year-old daughter.