Terriers



"As a rule, I don't like getting my ass kicked for free."

- Hank Dolworth

Terriers is a Detective Dramedy, created by Ted Griffin and co-executive produced by Shawn Ryan, that premiered on FX in the fall of 2010. Critics have made favourable comparisons to The Big Lebowski and Brick.

Hank Dolworth (Donal Logue) is an ex-cop and a recovering alcoholic who makes his living as an unlicensed Private Detective in Ocean Beach, California, along with his partner Britt Pollack (Michael Raymond-James), a reformed thief. They typically get jobs from their lawyer Maggie, some reluctant police help from Hank's former partner, Detective Mark Gustafson, and usually part of the mix each episode is Hank's ex-wife Gretchin and her new fiance Jason, and Britt's girlfriend Katie. Life is cruisey, until the duo agree to take on a job from real estate developer Robert Lindus that involves tracking down Eleanor Gosney, the daughter of Hank's old buddy Mickey. Cue a murder, a scandal, and the beginnings of the biggest and most dangerous case Hank and Britt have ever had to deal with.

The show only lasted one season.

This series contains examples of:
"Hank: What, did you think the car was going to explode?"
 * Addiction Displacement: Mark Gustafson quit smoking, but he always keeps an empty cigarette holder in his mouth because he likes the familiar feeling.
 * Affably Evil: Ben Zeitlund.
 * The Alleged Car: The "Gomez Brothers" pick up that Hank and Britt share.
 * Amateur Sleuth: Hank, a former cop, and Britt, an ex-con.
 * Amoral Attorney: Zeitlund again.
 * And the Adventure Continues...: Possibly, if.
 * Big Bad: Ben Zeitlin.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Steph. However, she's perfectly aware that she's mentally ill.
 * Corrupt Cop:
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Robert Lindus. And, at the end,
 * Defective Detective: Hank, albeit a low-key one.
 * Every Car Is a Pinto: Subverted when Britt tries to fake a car crash.

"Britt: Will you visit me in prison? Hank: For conjugal visits, yeah."
 * Framing the Guilty Party:
 * Friend on the Force: Gustafson. Though "loose friend" or "ex-friend" might be more accurate; Hank and Gustafson were partners back when Hank was on the force.
 * Heroes Love Dogs
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Hank and Britt.
 * Hollywood California: Magnificently averted; the show is revels in its depiction of metro San Diego.
 * Ho Yay: Hank and probably half the male cast, but with Britt especially.
 * Ho Yay: Hank and probably half the male cast, but with Britt especially.

"Hank: You know what this reminds me of? The time we had to climb down the ravine to."
 * Gustafson even refers to Britt as Hank's boytoy.
 * Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: Almost everything in the first season is connected to something that resolves in the finale.
 * The Jinx: Even though it hasn't been explicitly brought up, Hank, considering
 * Kansas City Shuffle:
 * Knight in Sour Armor: Hank proves to be one in the pilot.
 * Madwoman in the Attic: Literally.
 * The Man Behind the Man:
 * Mr. Fanservice: Britt: A blue collar Loveable Rogue, who has his problems, but always puts his educated, beautiful girlfriend first. And is very often shirtless and boyishly grinning while doing do.
 * Monochrome Casting: Pleasantly averted.
 * No Ending: Frustratingly so, since the show only lasted one season. In the final scene of the series,.
 * Non-Indicative Name: Detective Gustafson is an African-American.
 * The title of the show itself.
 * Origins Episode: "Sins of the Past"
 * Police Are Useless
 * Private Detective: 'Natch.
 * Rian Johnson: Directed the fifth episode, "Manifest Destiny."
 * Real Life Relative: Donal Logue's younger sister Karina as Hank's sister Steph.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Hank and Britt trade places constantly. In the first half, Hank is the red oni to Britt's blue oni. About midway through, Britt crosses into red oni territory when, and Hank becomes the blue oni as he tries to balance him out.
 * Shaped Like Itself


 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Subverted by Katie who seems to harbour no desire for Britt to get a "real" job and even
 * There Are No Therapists: Averted.
 * Tim Minear: Executive producer, and writer of episode 11, "Sins of the Past." Unfortunately living up to his fan nickname of The Tim Reaper.
 * Title Drop: Subverted in the second episode. Britt decides they need a mascot, and he and Hank try to come up with an animal that will represent how they latch onto cases and never let go (a stereotypical trait of terriers). They can't think of anything.
 * The Un-Reveal:
 * We never do find out.
 * We also never find out.
 * Wham! Episode: "Quid Pro Quo".
 * Word of God: The producers have revealed what would have happened in Season 2
 * Your Cheating Heart: