Aquarius (NBC 2015-2016, David Duchovny, Gethin Anthony)

Los Angeles. 1967. Sam Hodiak, a decorated World War II vet and homicide detective, barely recognizes the city he’s now policing. Long hair, cheap drugs, rising crime, protests, free love, police brutality, Black Power and the Vietnam War are radically remaking the world he and the Greatest Generation saved from fascism 20 years ago.

So when Emma Karn, the 16-year-old daughter of an old girlfriend, goes missing in a sea of hippies and Hodiak agrees to find her, he faces only hostility, distrust and silence. He enlists the help of Brian Shafe – a young, idealistic undercover vice cop who’s been allowed to grow his hair out – to infiltrate this new counterculture and find her.

The generational conflict between the two is immediate and heated, yet they’re both dedicated officers and soon realize the need to bring Emma home is more urgent than they foresaw. The immediacy arises because she has joined a small, but growing, band of drifters under the sway of a career criminal who now dreams of being a rock star: Charles Manson.

Ringing with the unparalleled music of the era, “Aquarius” is a sprawling work of historical fiction that begins two years before the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders. It’s a shocking thriller, a nuanced character drama and, in the end, the story of how we became who we are today.

From NBC’s press release, April 2016… In an unprecedented move for broadcast television, NBC is dedicating two commercial-free hours to the Thursday, June 16 (9-11 p.m. ET/PT) second-season premiere of its critically applauded drama “Aquarius,” starring David Duchovny as an LAPD cop on the hunt for Charles Manson. The 120-minute telecast will have absolutely no breaks for commercials or network promos, with the only stoppage coming for a one-minute local news break during the show’s second hour. The NBC telecast on June 16 will be the only chance to watch the episodes completely commercial free. When those episodes move to their online and digital platforms following the NBC telecast, a normal commercial load will ensue. Beginning the following week on June 23, the series will shift to its normal 10 p.m. timeslot.

cast
David Duchovny as Sam Hodiak
Grey Damon as Brian Shafe
Gethin Anthony as Charles Manson
Emma Dumont as Emma Karn
Claire Holt as Charmain Tully
Chance Kelly as Detective Ed Cutler
Brían F. O’Byrne as Ken Karn
Ambyr Childers as Sadie
Michaela McManus as Grace Karn
Whitney Rose Pynn as Minnie
Milauna Jackson as Kristin Shafe
David Meunier as Roy Kovic
Jodi Harris as Opal
Spencer Garrett as Hal Banyin
Chris Sheffield as Walt Hodiak

key behind the scenes crew
Becky Clements as Executive Producer
David Duchovny as Executive Producer
John McNamara as Creator/Executive Producer
Jonas Pate as Executive Producer/Director of Pilot
Marty Adelstein as Executive Producer
Melanie Greene as Executive ProducerP

show type
period crime drama

broadcast from
5/28/2015 – 9/10/2016
2 seasons with 26 episodes in total

network and production companies
NBC – ITV Studios – Marty Adelstein Productions

country
USA