Deputy's Political Focus Will Be Mostly Local, with a Few Key Exceptions

Deputy's first few episodes might have a lot to say about local law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration raids, which is undoubtedly a hot-button issue in America right now. However, as the season progresses, audiences can expect to see the new police procedural turn its political focus a bit more inward.

At Fox's Television Critics Association winter tour presentation on Tuesday, the cast and creatives of the series previewed what's ahead during Bill Hollister's (Stephen Dorff) stint as L.A. County Sheriff, revealing that most of his political battles are more local than we saw in the pilot.

"A lot of the topics that we take on as the season progresses are within the department itself: a lot of the ins and outs and the alliances that are made there. That's a big portion of our political drive in Season 1," executive producer and showrunner Kimberly Ann Harrison explained. "We do step out of the hall of justice and take on a couple of other hot topics, but the majority of the politics you'll see will be within the department."

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Co-executive producer Chris Long added that it was still important for the series to highlight Bill's strong beliefs about how the Sheriff's Office should treat immigrants, whether documented or not, and his reticence to participate in an ICE raid.

"If you are a law enforcement agency, you're going into people's homes for domestic violence or if someone's hurt and in need of service; you don't want that community [to be] afraid to call you," Long said. "They're not there to enforce immigration, that's what the federal government does. They're there to help families, help your neighbors in need, so that's a key part of the messaging."

Deputy airs on Thursdays at 9/8c on Fox.

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