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Premiering on NBC September 24, The Mysteries of Laura centers on Laura Diamond (Debra Messing), a perceptive NYPD homicide detective blessed with two rambunctious kids and a soon to be ex-husband/fellow cop (Josh Lucas). Laz Alonso plays Laura’s partner, Detective Billy Sands, and Janina Gavankar (True Blood, Arrow, The Gates) is Meredith Bose, Laura’s fellow colleague and rival.
“Meredith is what, the homicide detectives that we hung out with in New York City…she is what they call a ‘buff,'” said Gavankar, who also played a police officer in The Gates. “Which is somebody who takes their job a little too seriously. She both looks up to Laura and is absolutely aggravated by her because, in Meredith’s opinion, she works twice as hard and long everyday as Laura and gets half the recognition – if that.”
Although the series is propelled by comedy, one-liners or situational humor is often best served when the narrative is grounded in a semblance of reality. Dedicated and thorough actors will do their share of research for their characters.When part of that work includes getting into the emotional skin of NYPD detectives, co-stars Gavankar and Alonso jumped at the chance for a bit of extra homework.
During our interview with the pair, they talked about hanging out with police officers as prep for The Mysteries of Laura, and both revealed that when it comes to accruing information regarding their characters, they have an entirely different acting process. For Gavankar, the journalistic/interviewer approach best suits her craft, wherein Alonso attempts to pick up behavior through a bit of subtle osmosis.
Check out the video below to hear Janina Gavankar and Laz Alonso talk about meeting NYPD detectives for The Mysteries of Laura:
