# Special Unit 2 (2001)

> Two Chicago detectives secretly battle Links, a malicious half-human, half-beast species, from a hidden police precinct.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/5806

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 19
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: science fiction, action, comedy
- Created by: Evan Katz
- Network: UPN
- Cast: Michael Landes, Alexondra Lee, Danny Woodburn, Richard Gant, Sean Whalen, Ping Wu, Veronica De La Cruz, Tsianina Joelson
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268094/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: breezy, tongue in cheek, action packed, irreverent

## Synopsis

Special Unit 2 (2001-2002) is an American network supernatural police series created by Evan Katz for UPN. Detectives Nick O'Malley (Michael Landes) and Kate Benson (Alexondra Lee) work in a secret precinct of the Chicago Police Department, where their sole charge is to protect the city's citizens from Links, a malicious paranormal species that is the missing link between man and beast. Their engine is simple and concrete: each episode brings a new creature threat that the partners must track, confront and contain while keeping the unit's existence hidden from the wider department. Captain Richard Page (Richard Gant) oversees the operation, and the unusual Carl the Gnome (Danny Woodburn) adds offbeat comic color to the investigations. The show runs as a short monster-of-the-week series across two seasons and nineteen hour-long episodes, with a tongue-in-cheek approach that mixes action, buddy-detective banter and creature-feature set pieces. Its tone is breezy and self-aware rather than grim, and fans of Forever Knight, Sleepy Hollow and Beauty and the Beast will recognize its blend of urban police work and fantastical menace. The series was canceled before its story could be concluded.

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