“Wicked City” is a new ABC show about a lot of things: Los Angeles in the 1980s, an emerging music scene and even a Bonnie and Clyde-esque serial-killer couple. The ambitious project was already on the hot seat Tuesday during its TCA panel for its violence-against-women plot — and journalists hadn’t even seen more than a featurette yet.
The executive producers did their best to promise that the show won’t use the device gratuitously.
“We’ve talked a lot about that in the writers room; actually the majority of us are women,” executive producer Amy B. Harris told reporters. “It was very important to us that we do not depict graphic violence. For me that’s a very uncomfortable thing to watch.”
Harris described her drama instead as an “incredibly warped” love story between Kent (Ed Westwick) and Betty (Erika Christensen).
“All of the women on this show are strong women … empowered women,” creator Steven Baigelman chimed in. “It’s very important to us to not be violence porn.”
So that’s “Wicked City” in a nutshell — but wait, there’s more! The show, which promises to feature rock stars from the ’70s and ’80s as guest actors, also legitimately hopes to actually launch a new band in Season 1.
The potential anthology series promises should there be a second season, some characters won’t live to see it. The big case chased by the faux cops will also change from year to year.
“Wicked City” also stars Jeremy Sisto, Gabriel Luna, Taissa Farmiga, Evan Ross and Karolina Wydra, all of whom attended the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour event.