 by the linster |
Cathy Lanier television drama: Who's the chief?When I read the news that Fox planned to do a drama based on Cathy Lanier, I had only one thought. Who?
Turns out that Lanier has made quite a splash in Washington, D.C., where she's the new chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC). Lanier's story certainly sounds like the stuff of television drama — she's a 39-year-old single mother who dropped out of high school in ninth grade because she was pregnant. As any good protagonist would do, she pressed on, got her GED and eventually obtained a B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins, earned an advanced degree from Naval Postgraduate School and attended the JFK School of Government at Harvard. She also graduated from the FBI Academy and the DEA Drug Unit Commanders Academy. Whew.
Lanier is MPDC's first permanent female police chief, leading a 3,800-member department that is predominately black and male. Staying on the job hasn't been easy, especially in the early '90s when she joined the force. She endured "unrelenting harassment from male officers," eventually filing a sexual harassment suit — which she won. So far, according to The Washington Post, Lanier hasn't been contacted about the project. But that hasn't stopped speculation about who should be cast as the chief. The Post suggested The Departed's Vera Farmiga.
Or a woman I'd love to see in a lead role, Laura Dern.
DCist, noting the physical
similarities, recommends
Perhaps the part of Lanier could mark the return of Laura Innes to television.
Or a crush I haven't seen in awhile, Jayne Brook.
Who do you see in this role? Any AfterEllen.com readers from D.C.? What do you think of a drama based on Cathy Lanier? Would this be a better series or TV movie? Submitted by on October 16, 2007 - 4:09pm. |
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What a Story
It's a story that should be told and not just on Lifetime. I live in MD and I personally haven't heard too much about her but it's a great story. Unfotunately the police department in DC gets more flack that praise.
Maybe a come back role for Linda Hamilton, I can dream can't I?
"Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from."
I don't know who should play
I don't know who should play her, but Chief Lanier's story could only be better if it turned out she also played for our team.
But maybe Renee O'Conner or the now blond Lucy Lawless. I'm more feelin' Renee though.
Lisa
Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security -- B. Franklinoops
sorry, double posted.
DC!
I'd love to see Edie Falco in the role...or any role, really...but both the Post and DCist seem to ignore one very important fact: Cathy Lanier is a pretty imposing woman. At 6' tall, she's seven inches taller than Falco and Farmiga. I'm not sure you could ignore her physicality in a movie like this...
A blonde Lucy Lawless might work. Maybe Brenda Strong from Desperate Housewives or Kristen Johnston from 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Actually, come to think of it...Johnston might be a perfect fit.
same story as usual
its not exactly new for mainstream audiences to be fed an abundance of stories about white women being sexually threatened by black men. i dont even want to think about who is going to play her. real life stories can be used irresponsibly to over-represent black men as a threat while the *vast majority* of white women are sexually harassed (and worse) by white men. but media would rather show us this story and a million stories like it. confronting real life sexual harassment and male dominance also involves white women examining how we maintain racism when we don't question how the media racializes sexual threat.
a blogger at racialicious on the subject:
http://www.racialicious.com/2007/10/15/coming-soon-to-the-wifetime%e2%84...