Yahoo Lifestyle Lori Loughlin Talks Smoking Cigs, Dropping F-Bombs and Defying Expectations in Dick Wolf’s On Call
Lori Loughlin, best known to TV audiences for family friendly fare like ABC’s Full House and Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart, is not who you would expect to see preside over a squad room on a Dick Wolf procedural. But after some time away from the limelight, the TGIF vet reports for duty as Bishop, a no-nonsense lieutenant in the Long Beach police department, on Prime Video’s On Call.
In her very first scene, Bishop gathers her police force and uses some very salty language as she relays pertinent intel regarding the prime suspect and “piece of s–t” getaway driver involved in the shooting death of Monica Raymund’s Officer Maria Delgado. “I know we’re all raw, but let’s keep it in check,” she tells them. “We have a multi-agency task force looking for these motherf–kers. That’s their job.”
More from TVLine
Loughlin is the first to admit that Bishop is quite a departure from the likes of Rebecca Donaldson and Abigail Stanton. “It is such a different role for me,” she tells TVLine. “I will say, initially, I was very flattered to get the offer [but I] was a little apprehensive because I didn’t know if I could do it — if I could find that strength and that badass quality. Obviously, it’s a great script, it’s a great role, a wonderful opportunity… so I jumped at the chance to play the part.” But it was her co-star, Eriq La Salle, who executive-produces and directs her in the pilot, “who was instrumental in bringing me on board and helping me develop the character.
“The first day, the first scene, I definitely had butterflies,” Loughlin admits. “I was not so sure of myself, and Eriq really helped me find her voice, find her strength, and gave me the confidence to push her even further.”
Meanwhile, it was fellow series director Brenna Malloy who decided that Bishop needed a vice. In Episode 4, following Delgado’s funeral, Troian Bellisario’s Harmon locks eyes with her superior, who is leaning against a squad car and smoking a cigarette.
“Brenna was like, ‘Listen, I don’t know if you want to do this, but how about we see you smoking a cigarette?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh my God, genius! It was such a great, collaborative effort… and I’m so appreciative of that.”
La Salle — who, in recent years, has found himself fully immersed in the Dick Wolf universe, having served as an EP on Chicago P.D. and as a director on episodes of FBI and various #OneChicago and Law & Order offshoots — played a crucial role in establishing the look and feel of Wolf’s first scripted series for a streaming service. “We wanted to make it edgier than the network shows [and] we wanted to do something different,” he says, and part of that involved who they cast.
“Casting Lori was not just, ‘OK, let’s just put her in this role.’ We wanted it to be the kind of show where, if you show up with certain expectations, you’ll be surprised,” the ER actor explains. “It’s not predictable. To me, [casting Lori is] a metaphor [for the show], how we cast her in a very different kind of role. Once you see that, you go, ‘Oh….'” (All eight episodes of On Call are now streaming on Prime Video.)
What did you think of Loughlin’s turn as Lieutenant Bishop in Prime Video’s On Call? Sound off in the comments.
Best of TVLine
Sign up for TVLine's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
