‘Lie to Me’ gets a ‘Shield’ makeover
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On Monday night’s episode of Fox’s “Lie to Me,” which sees a barrage of “The Shield” alums guest star, the unthinkable has happened: Capt. David Aceveda and Officer Danny Sofer are … gulp … married. Oh, and Det. Curtis Lemansky? He’s a ... photographer.
“Hopefully, ‘Shield’ fans will enjoy this wacky universe we cooked up for them,” said “Shield” creator” and “Lie to Me” executive producer Shawn Ryan. “Because we had fun creating it.”
The idea to reunite the cast was not a fluke. Ryan began looking for ways to bring ‘Shield’ actors to the Fox show when the season began. But it started simply.
“It’s always fun thinking of what guest stars to bring in,’ Ryan said. “And I thought, gee, wouldn’t it be great to get David Snell here, David Marciano there. But I wanted more of them all at once! I waited for the right episode to come along where it wouldn’t be gimmicky.”
So having “The Shield” alums reprise their roles was not an option.
“It would have been a little weird and creepy if they were playing the same character,” he said.
In Monday’s episode of “Lie to Me,” Benito Martinez and Catherine Dent play Charlie and Faye Sheridan, a couple whose child was murdered 17 years earlier. The episode, titled “Pied Piper,” sees Lightman (Tim Roth) question whether he sent the wrong man (Marciano) to be executed for the murder; it’s not long before he grows suspicious of the Sheridans.
But in Lightman’s attempt to correct a wrong, he turns to the executed man’s younger brother (Snell) and ex-girlfriend (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) for clues, which leads them to an unsuspecting photographer (Kenny Johnson).
“I think fans will be giggling to themselves,” said Martinez, who played Capt. Aceveda on “The Shield.” “They’ll be like ‘Nooooo! How are they a couple? Or, dude, that guy can’t be a murderer.’ They’re going to see us in completely different ways. It’s like he mixed us up in a crayon box and threw us back out there in a different shade.”
Working for his old boss again is nothing new for Martinez. He also guest-starred on Ryan’s CBS drama “The Unit.” And he would like to continue the tradition. Ryan, who relinquished his duties as showrunner for “Lie to Me’s” third season to focus on new projects, promised that the episode wouldn’t be a ‘Shield’- members-only type of deal. And if it works, more reunion attempts could be in the future on his newest TV ventures, Fox’s ‘Ride Along’ and FX’s ‘Terriers.’
“I think that crazy nutcase has to do [a ‘Shield’ reunion’] over and over,” Martinez said. “Let’s make this an annual thing.”
Eh, not so fast.
“We’ll see how successful Monday’s episode is,” Ryan said. “If enough people tune in, it will be tempting to try it again on a different show.”
The episode of “Lie to Me” airs Monday at 9 p.m. Pacific on Fox.
-- Yvonne Villarreal
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