The Best New Streaming Show of July Came Out in February

I don’t fully understand the television origins of Good Cop/Bad Cop. It’s set in Washington but filmed in Australia, and aside from Leighton Meester and Clancy Brown, the cast is mostly Australian actors doing American accents. It originally aired back in February on Stan in Australia and The CW in America, which is basically the broadcast equivalent of launching it into space. No one watches The CW (ratings for Good Cop/Bad Cop were under 300,000 viewers per episode).

Now that it’s streaming on Prime Video, it feels like stumbling onto a “new” show that’s already six months old (and I see it’s slowly climbing the streamer’s Top 10). It’s fun, too — imagine the quirky vibe of Psych mixed with the warm, small-town charm of Schitt’s Creek. Even though it’s set in America and shot in Australia, it feels like a Canadian show: lighthearted, wholesome, and full of good vibes.

I never watched Gossip Girl, but I’m a big fan of Leighton Meester thanks to her criminally short-lived sitcom Single Parents. She’s funny, endearing, and has great comic timing. I only gave Good Cop/Bad Cop a shot because of her, although I nearly didn’t because I didn’t recognize Meester on the Prime Video landing page.

I’m still not entirely convinced that’s her. But here, she plays Lou, a detective so skilled she can good-cop a confession out of anyone. Her dad, the sheriff — Big Hank Hickman (Clancy Brown) — ropes in her estranged brother Henry (Luke Cook) to be her partner. Henry is technically the bad cop, but only in the most Canadian way possible. He’s not mean so much as awkward and mildly impolite.

The brother-sister dynamic shouldn’t work, but it does. Together, they solve oddball small-town murders while unpacking decades of family baggage. Even the criminals here tend to be decent people. The comedy is low-key and entertaining, with a standout Twin Peaks gag that lands late in the season.

One reason it likely tanked on The CW — beyond being on The CW — is that it feels like a summer show: breezy, pleasant, and perfect for zoning out in front of the AC. Meester and Cook have terrific sibling chemistry, and it’s a delight to see Clancy Brown not playing a villain for once. I cruised through the whole season in just a couple of sittings and can only hope it finds enough of an audience on Prime Video to earn a renewal somewhere — just not on The CW. We deserve all the Meester we can get (and the obligatory Adam Brody cameo, of course).

‘Good Cop/Bad Cop’ is currently streaming on Prime Video.