Kick off the new year with your next favorite crime-solving duo. Wild Cards is the latest entry in the lineage of detective procedurals on network television, but its hot twist has it set to become appointment viewing. Don’t expect a formulaic buddy-cop comedy here; the unlikely pairing at the center of this show—disgraced detective and feisty con woman—defies stereotypes.
Here’s everything you need to know about The CW’s new show.
When do new Wild Cards episodes drop?
The show premiered on Wednesday, Jan. 17 on The CW, with new installments airing every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. You can also stream episodes for free the day after they air on The CW app.
Who is in the Wild Cards cast?
Vanessa Morgan (Riverdale, My Babysitter’s a Vampire) plays con woman Max Mitchell, who charms and scams everyone she meets—including the cops who arrest her during her latest ruse. She gets passed off to Giacomo Gianniotti’s (Grey’s Anatomy) Cole Ellis, a sardonic policeman who’s been relegated to the canonical lowest rung on the law-enforcement ladder: the maritime unit. When Max overhears a briefing at the station about an ongoing burglary investigation, she uses her particular set of skills to clue Ellis in on where the thief will strike next. The by-the-book cop follows his latest collar’s hunch and reluctantly earns himself a new—temporary—partner.
Other key players include Terry Chen (Almost Famous, Jessica Jones) as Ellis’s boss Chief Li, who is also less than keen on the department’s new consultant, plus Amy Goodmurphy (Animal Control) and Michael Xavier (Bitten) as fellow detectives. Rounding out the cast is Canadian actor and director Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills, 90210; Private Eyes) as Max’s supportive dad, George.
What is Wild Cards about?
For Max and Ellis, the stakes of the partnership couldn’t be much higher. The police commissioner tasks the unlikely duo with solving more cases—legally—and, if successful, Ellis can go back to being a land-based detective and Max can avoid jail time. But can they work together without breaking (too many) laws themselves? They figure they might as well try.
As Max leads Ellis around town, meeting an assortment of her not-quite-above-board connections on the hunt for information, and flexing her acting and sleight-of-hand skills along the way, their contrasting attitudes and investigative philosophies play off of each other both comedically and increasingly effectively. They don’t quite trust each other, but boy, do they have chemistry. (Have you ever watched a cop show where undercover work didn’t require an impromptu kiss?)
Just as Max sees the cruel reality of closing a case at all costs, Ellis starts to open up about his past, and the partnership begins to blossom. Will Max’s charm work on Ellis and the police department as well as it has on her friends from her prior life? (Seriously, you have to see the house she’s crashing in. What kind of friend loans out a butler?!) It might be a bit early yet, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see Max and Ellis become the OTP of 2024.
