Watch The Commish
- TV-14
- 1991
- 5 Seasons
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7.1 (2,060)
The Commish is an American dramedy and police procedural that aired on the American ABC television network in the early 1990s. It stars Michael Chiklis as Tony Scali, a former detective for the New York Police Department who takes on the role of Commissioner for the upstate New York town of Eastbridge. His role is modeled after Anthony Schembri, a former Commissioner of New York City's Department of Corrections. Scali isn't your typical Police Commissioner. While tough when he needs to be, Scali uses conversation and humor to diffuse situations. He also relies on various members of his police force to keep things from escalating. This includes Officer Stan Kelly (Geoffrey Nauffts), Ricky Caruso (Nicholas Lea), and Carmela Pagan (Gina Belafonte). These officers reported to three different second-in-commands during The Commish's run. The first was Scali's long-time friend Irv Wallerstein, played by Alex Bruhanski. He was followed by Paulie Pentangeli, portrayed by John Cygan. Starting in the second season, Pentageli was replaced by Lieutenant Cyd Madison, played by Melinda McGraw. In addition to Scali's daily routines at the police station, The Commish focused on his home life with wife Rachel (Theresa Saldana) and teenage son David (Kaj-Erik Eriksen). In the second season the Scali's added another member to their family with the birth of daughter Sarah. Many situations that took place at the police station, such as investigations of racism or homophobic attacks, would end up being discussed at the Scali home. Created by Stephen J. Cannell and Stephen Kronish, The Commish premiered on ABC in September of 1991 and ended in January of 1996, running a total of 94 episodes. During its original run the show was broadcast internationally in places like Finland, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
