# Life (2007)

> A wrongfully imprisoned former cop returns to the LAPD with a Zen-like calm, investigating the murder he was framed for while solving strange Los Angeles crimes.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/3612

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 32
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: drama, crime, mystery
- Created by: Rand Ravich
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Damian Lewis, Sarah Shahi, Brooke Langton, Brent Sexton, Donal Logue, Adam Arkin, Gabrielle Union, Robin Weigert
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0874936/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: offbeat, wry, melancholic, playful, contemplative

## What critics say

Viewers broadly regard Life as an acclaimed, offbeat police procedural whose quirky lead and Zen-inflected take on crime set it apart from standard cop shows.

## Synopsis

Life (2007-2009) is an American crime drama series created by Rand Ravich for NBC. Damian Lewis plays Charlie Crews, an eccentric former detective who returns to the Los Angeles police force after years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Sarah Shahi plays his partner Dani Reese, and Brent Sexton plays Bobby Stark, a fellow officer who works alongside them. Crews has returned with a calm, Zen-like outlook and no appetite for revenge, a stance that is tested whenever someone he cares about is threatened or when his investigation turns back toward the mystery of his own framing. The series combines a case-of-the-week structure with a longer thread about exoneration and the truth behind his conviction, across two seasons and thirty-two episodes. Its tone is offbeat and wry, with a melancholic undercurrent from his lost years and a playful edge in Lewis's unpredictable performance. Fans of Monk, The Fugitive and Columbo will find resonance in its quirky investigator, wrongful imprisonment storyline and Los Angeles procedural texture. The show shares the sensibility of a network crime drama while keeping its lead's unusual philosophy at the center.

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