Good Cop/Bad Cop creators and lead discuss global appeal & season 2 hopes at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival
The critically acclaimed crime dramedy Good Cop/Bad Cop – nominated for a Golden Nymph at this year’s Monte-Carlo TV Festival – took center stage during a Sunday morning press conference featuring Luke Cook (who plays the leading role of detective Henry Hickman), John Quaintance (creator), and Jeff Wachtel (executive producer). The Stan/the CW/Roku production distributed by ITV Studios follows the dysfunctional siblings detective duo comprised of Lou Hickman (played by Leighton Meester of Gossip Girl fame) and the socially inept savant Henry Hickman (Cook)—as they solve crimes and navigate family drama in a small American town.
When asked about the series’ international appeal, Quaintance joked: "I was surprised anybody knew who we were here!" But Wachtel, a veteran producer behind hits like Monk, emphasized the deliberate global approach: "We wanted to reverse the dynamic of, we're American, we're making the show, you're going to buy it, which had very much been the route for many, many years. We started working on it 15 years ago when I was at USA Network, and one of the ironies of my time at USA was, even though it was called USA, we had an international focus. That was financially driven. We didn't have the money to make shows at the quality level that we wanted to, the production level we wanted to, so we needed to really engage with international audiences from the beginning".
Shot in Queensland, Australia with a primarily Aussie cast (all performing American accents), the show’s hybrid tone—part Coen Brothers noir (Quaintance is from Minnesota where the Coen Brothers are from and he really enjoyed their movies when growing up), part family saga—resonates across borders. "It’s better than the script," Wachtel admitted. "Luke and Leighton elevated it beyond expectations."
Cook’s portrayal of Henry, a detective obsessed with TV procedurals, became a breakout talking point. "In the script, it said he ‘runs like a cyborg,’ so I studied the Terminator run," he revealed. Quaintance added: "we were looking for a 6'5", lantern-jawed, handsome guy who was really funny and really weird, and everybody said, yeah, good luck. Luke showed up fully formed." He also said that "one of the things that I really love about Luke's character, and I'll let Luke speak to it, is that when we were filming it, and he was sort of discovering the character, that this is a person who's wanted to be a detective his whole life, so some of what he thinks of being a detective is from the things he's seen on TV, and he brought a lot to that, which I thought was really funny". Cook added: "later in the season you'll see I become (David) Caruso. He takes off his glasses whenever he says a big moment, and we squeeze that in." He continued: "I'm a natural impersonator. I didn't want to think about anybody as I was doing the role, and after it came out a few people said, oh, Sheldon, and a few people said a few different things, and I was like, I'm glad I don't know what you're talking about..."
The Australian actor also discussed the challenges of maintaining his flawless American accent: "I've lived in Los Angeles for a long time now, so I feel pretty good about my accent. And most American actors, when they meet me, don't know that I'm Australian, and they've seen my audition or whatever, and they're like, oh, you're Australian? I had no idea. And that's always a great compliment. But it's funny going back to Australia because I naturally get my twang back when I'm around Aussies and then I've got to slip into American. But for me, I've been working on it for so long, it's natural." The Australian setting proved particularly fruitful for casting. "We only have two American actors in the cast, but the show is set in America," Quaintance noted. "Everyone's doing American accents, which is kind of incredible when you think about it."
Cook also talked about his TikTok fame and AI. "It's so funny. I feel the world going in two different places at once. It's getting our attention spans are getting shorter, and we're able to listen to four-hour-long podcasts at the same time. And Scorsese continues to make three-hour movies, so maybe I feel like there's a world where it all exists at once. And there's this short-form video content that's getting very popular, particularly in China, which is vertical soaps, and basically keeping Hollywood employed right now. So whilst I do think that we're going in different directions, I think that good art is always rare, and forging towards making good stuff will always win. It doesn't matter what size, what length. If it's 30 seconds and it's vertical, if it's good, it'll do well. And if it's bad, it won't. And AI is going to find the same thing. There's so much crap AI, so much slop. And if you can make good stuff, you'll always win. And I know, because I make a lot of slop myself. So, yeah, I think it's encouraging to the artist. It's like you still have to be really good."
Quaintance pitched the show as a deeply personal project inspired by his eccentric, detective-obsessed cousin. "It’s a love story about a broken family," he said. "Season 1 was about pulling them together; Season 2 would threaten to tear them apart again."
Cook and Meester’s off-screen bond mirrored their characters’: "I feel like very much, personally,she feels like my sister now. Well, when you work together like that, you're together 12 hours of a day, you get to know each other, and you go through the hard times when everybody's tired or feeling a bit sick or run down, and then the joys of making great TV. So I feel like she's my sister now, but that was very immediate. Wemet, and immediately, upon rehearsing, we never had to try. I said to her right when I met her, I was like, this whole show hinges on our ability to pull off this relationship, and then we never spoke about it again, and we never tried anything again. It was just very natural. Ad I feel the same way about Clancy (Brown). I feel like he's very much my father. Yeah, we've become a real family in some way." Wachtel praised Meester’s star power: "She’s having a moment. Her Gossip Girl fans are rediscovering her, and she’s a promotional powerhouse." She’s having a moment again, Wachtel said, adding that she’s known from Gossip Girl, but also appealing to younger viewers rediscovering her work. She’s gracious on set, incredibly talented, and promotes the show herself.
Despite critical acclaim, renewal hinges on financing. "It’s a juggling act when it is a co-production," Wachtel admitted, noting the CW’s scripted cutbacks. "But if Amazon or ITV steps up, we’re ready." Cook laughed: "What I love about what John did in this first season was that at the end I was like, I have no idea how he's going to get himself out of this. He's really tied some knots." Wachtel elaborated: "in today's world, with the streamers, they have limitless resources, and if something pops on their platform, they can pay for the whole thing. So our hope is that somewhere in the mix of people who have already been financing the show, Roku, et cetera, or even a new person who comes in like Amazon, that they'll give us the critical mass to continue. But it's kind of crazy to have something that, we don't just believe it, but we actually, I don't want to sound arrogant, but we know how good it is."
Currently streaming on Stan (Australia) and The CW (U.S.), with Amazon Prime securing non-exclusive U.S. rights. International deals (including France) are pending, with a Canadian deal already locked in. "Use a VPN, you have my permission" Quaintance jokingly urged journalists who want to watch the series in countries where it is not available as the team believes promotion is crucial for the series.
Shot in Queensland, Australia with a primarily Aussie cast (all performing American accents), the show’s hybrid tone—part Coen Brothers noir (Quaintance is from Minnesota where the Coen Brothers are from and he really enjoyed their movies when growing up), part family saga—resonates across borders. "It’s better than the script," Wachtel admitted. "Luke and Leighton elevated it beyond expectations."
Cook’s portrayal of Henry, a detective obsessed with TV procedurals, became a breakout talking point. "In the script, it said he ‘runs like a cyborg,’ so I studied the Terminator run," he revealed. Quaintance added: "we were looking for a 6'5", lantern-jawed, handsome guy who was really funny and really weird, and everybody said, yeah, good luck. Luke showed up fully formed." He also said that "one of the things that I really love about Luke's character, and I'll let Luke speak to it, is that when we were filming it, and he was sort of discovering the character, that this is a person who's wanted to be a detective his whole life, so some of what he thinks of being a detective is from the things he's seen on TV, and he brought a lot to that, which I thought was really funny". Cook added: "later in the season you'll see I become (David) Caruso. He takes off his glasses whenever he says a big moment, and we squeeze that in." He continued: "I'm a natural impersonator. I didn't want to think about anybody as I was doing the role, and after it came out a few people said, oh, Sheldon, and a few people said a few different things, and I was like, I'm glad I don't know what you're talking about..."
The Australian actor also discussed the challenges of maintaining his flawless American accent: "I've lived in Los Angeles for a long time now, so I feel pretty good about my accent. And most American actors, when they meet me, don't know that I'm Australian, and they've seen my audition or whatever, and they're like, oh, you're Australian? I had no idea. And that's always a great compliment. But it's funny going back to Australia because I naturally get my twang back when I'm around Aussies and then I've got to slip into American. But for me, I've been working on it for so long, it's natural." The Australian setting proved particularly fruitful for casting. "We only have two American actors in the cast, but the show is set in America," Quaintance noted. "Everyone's doing American accents, which is kind of incredible when you think about it."
Cook also talked about his TikTok fame and AI. "It's so funny. I feel the world going in two different places at once. It's getting our attention spans are getting shorter, and we're able to listen to four-hour-long podcasts at the same time. And Scorsese continues to make three-hour movies, so maybe I feel like there's a world where it all exists at once. And there's this short-form video content that's getting very popular, particularly in China, which is vertical soaps, and basically keeping Hollywood employed right now. So whilst I do think that we're going in different directions, I think that good art is always rare, and forging towards making good stuff will always win. It doesn't matter what size, what length. If it's 30 seconds and it's vertical, if it's good, it'll do well. And if it's bad, it won't. And AI is going to find the same thing. There's so much crap AI, so much slop. And if you can make good stuff, you'll always win. And I know, because I make a lot of slop myself. So, yeah, I think it's encouraging to the artist. It's like you still have to be really good."
Quaintance pitched the show as a deeply personal project inspired by his eccentric, detective-obsessed cousin. "It’s a love story about a broken family," he said. "Season 1 was about pulling them together; Season 2 would threaten to tear them apart again."
Cook and Meester’s off-screen bond mirrored their characters’: "I feel like very much, personally,she feels like my sister now. Well, when you work together like that, you're together 12 hours of a day, you get to know each other, and you go through the hard times when everybody's tired or feeling a bit sick or run down, and then the joys of making great TV. So I feel like she's my sister now, but that was very immediate. Wemet, and immediately, upon rehearsing, we never had to try. I said to her right when I met her, I was like, this whole show hinges on our ability to pull off this relationship, and then we never spoke about it again, and we never tried anything again. It was just very natural. Ad I feel the same way about Clancy (Brown). I feel like he's very much my father. Yeah, we've become a real family in some way." Wachtel praised Meester’s star power: "She’s having a moment. Her Gossip Girl fans are rediscovering her, and she’s a promotional powerhouse." She’s having a moment again, Wachtel said, adding that she’s known from Gossip Girl, but also appealing to younger viewers rediscovering her work. She’s gracious on set, incredibly talented, and promotes the show herself.
Despite critical acclaim, renewal hinges on financing. "It’s a juggling act when it is a co-production," Wachtel admitted, noting the CW’s scripted cutbacks. "But if Amazon or ITV steps up, we’re ready." Cook laughed: "What I love about what John did in this first season was that at the end I was like, I have no idea how he's going to get himself out of this. He's really tied some knots." Wachtel elaborated: "in today's world, with the streamers, they have limitless resources, and if something pops on their platform, they can pay for the whole thing. So our hope is that somewhere in the mix of people who have already been financing the show, Roku, et cetera, or even a new person who comes in like Amazon, that they'll give us the critical mass to continue. But it's kind of crazy to have something that, we don't just believe it, but we actually, I don't want to sound arrogant, but we know how good it is."
Currently streaming on Stan (Australia) and The CW (U.S.), with Amazon Prime securing non-exclusive U.S. rights. International deals (including France) are pending, with a Canadian deal already locked in. "Use a VPN, you have my permission" Quaintance jokingly urged journalists who want to watch the series in countries where it is not available as the team believes promotion is crucial for the series.
