Ep 1. Pilot

Shades of Blue is a thrilling crime drama television series that premiered on NBC in 2016. Created by Adi Hasak, the show follows the lives of a group of corrupt police officers, led by Detective Harlee Santos, who works for the NYPD's anti-corruption task force. The first season of the show contains 13 episodes, with the first episode being titled "Pilot."

In the opening scene, we are introduced to Detective Harlee Santos, played by Jennifer Lopez, during a high-stress operation that goes terribly wrong. Her team of police officers is trying to catch a serious criminal named Mario Suarez, who is wanted for murder. However, the operation turns into a bloodbath, and Harlee accidentally shoots one of her colleagues. She rushes the injured officer to the hospital but is afraid to call her supervisor, Lieutenant Matt Wozniak, played by Ray Liotta.

Later, we see Harlee picking up her daughter Cristina from school and taking her to a restaurant owned by her boyfriend, Miguel Zepeda, played by Antonio Jaramillo. There, they meet an FBI agent named Robert Stahl, played by Warren Kole, who has been investigating Harlee's team for a while. Stahl suspects that they are taking payments from criminals, but Harlee denies any wrongdoing. After leaving the restaurant, Harlee receives a call from Wozniak, requesting her to meet him at a remote location at midnight.

At the meeting, Wozniak warns Harlee that Stahl is getting too close to their operation, and they need to move the millions of dollars they have collected from criminals to a safer location. Harlee is hesitant at first, but Wozniak convinces her that it's the only way to protect their families and the team. Together with fellow detectives Tess Nazario, played by Drea de Matteo, and Michael Loman, played by Dayo Okeniyi, they move the money to a secret location.

However, things become more complicated when Harlee receives a visit from her ex-husband, Miguel, who wants her to help him win custody of their daughter. Harlee agrees to help him, but soon discovers that Miguel is involved with one of the criminals they have been collecting money from. To make matters worse, Stahl manages to plant a bug in Harlee's phone, and he can hear everything she says.

The episode ends with Harlee finding out that Wozniak and the team have been set up by one of the criminals they work with. The money they moved has been stolen, and they are now in danger of being exposed. Harlee rushes to confront Wozniak, but he denies any wrongdoing and tells Harlee that they need to stick together to protect their interests.

Overall, "Pilot" sets the tone for what promises to be an intense and suspenseful season. The show establishes the central characters and their relationships, while also introducing the central conflict of the series: the corrupt police officers who must reconcile their criminal actions with their duty to uphold the law. The performances are strong, particularly Jennifer Lopez, who brings depth and complexity to her role as a conflicted detective. Viewers will be left wanting more, eager to see how the story unfolds in the episodes to come.