| 1 | %%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1525244222096388600 |
| 2 | %%Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:350:[[Film/BadBoysII https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_2_7.jpg]]]] |
| 5 | |
| 6 | ->''"Every police force in America contains at least two officers who are direct polar opposites, who are forced to work together, and who learn to respect each other in order to solve the big case."'' |
| 7 | -->-- [[https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2002/4/hollywood-rule-book "Hollywood Rule Book,"]] Vanity Fair |
| 8 | |
| 9 | A CopShow which focuses on a partnership, usually (but not exclusively) of two males, as opposed to a CopShow which focuses on a single officer/detective or an entire squad, or LovelyAngels, the DistaffCounterpart. If the primary officers are a man and a woman, it's nearly always StrictlyProfessionalRelationship. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Buddy cop shows often give a good deal of focus to the emotional lives and relationship of the two MainCharacters. Because of this, two tropes that this genre is strongly associated with are TheNotLoveInterest (where the plot focuses on the initial development of their relationship, typical of movies), and HeterosexualLifePartners or PlatonicLifePartners (where the plot focuses on a pre-existing relationship, typical of TV series and movie sequels). The buddies are often an OddCouple, occasionally one black and one white. In terms of personality, they tend to follow a distinct formula-one is a straight-laced stickler for protocol, the other is an unpredictable loose cannon. One ByTheBookCop, one CowboyCop. You get it. The primary thing keeping them together -- before CharacterDevelopment -- is that together, they fight crime. And they do it very, very well. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Movie versions abound, or at least they used to: ''Film/BadBoys1995'', ''Film/LethalWeapon'', ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'', etc. It was so common at one point that even making jokes at the expense of the genre [[DeadHorseTrope became cliche]]. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Increasingly common variants are partnerships between [[CopAndScientist a cop and a scientist]], a cop and a BoxedCrook, a [[FemaleFlatfootAndSnarkyGuy female cop and a snarky guy]], or AndroidsAndDetectives. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | It should be noted that this is generally not truth in television, for the practical reason that since police departments often have a lot of territory to patrol and a finite number of officers to do it with, jobs that can be handled by a single officer usually are. However, it is unlikely to go away as a narrative convention because the best way to show an investigator working out what happened in a mystery to an audience is to have him talk about it, and unless one goes for the FilmNoir convention of the monologuing detective, that requires giving the main character someone he can freely talk to about the case, and who better than another cop working the case? |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Subgenre of BuddyPicture. See also: ArtisticLicenseLawEnforcement, BromanticComedy, CriminalProcedural, ForensicDrama, CopShow, PoliceProcedural, WunzaPlot. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | !!Examples: |
| 23 | |
| 24 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[index]] |
| 27 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 28 | * ''Manga/{{FAKE}}'' takes the trope one further; its OddCouple, [[CowboyCop Dee]] and [[TeamMom Ryo]], are a couple in [[YaoiGenre more than one sense]]. |
| 29 | * ''Manga/InoHeadGargoyle'' has policeman Saejima and his partner Okita, who's soon replaced by Saejima's old friend Kamata. The focus is mainly on Saejima, though. |
| 30 | * ''Anime/KiddyGrade'' starts as one. |
| 31 | * ''Manga/{{Kurokochi}}'' focuses on the partnership between the NaiveNewcomer Shingo Seike and the sleazy experienced Keita Kurokôchi. |
| 32 | * ''Manga/MadBull34'', which can almost be considered a parody of this genre, has [[NewMeat Daizaburo]] [[TheLancer "Eddie"]] [[ByTheBookCop Ban]] and [[AntiHero John]] [[CowboyCop "Sleepy"]] [[DirtyCop Estes]] (A.K.A. [[InSeriesNickname Mad Bull]]). |
| 33 | * ''Anime/TheMillionaireDetectiveBalanceUnlimited'' |
| 34 | * ''Anime/SamuraiFlamenco'', which is often compared to ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'', is a {{Sentai}} show combined with a Buddy Cop show. The main characters consist of a down to earth cop and an unreasonably optimistic "super hero", with a supporting cast of a [[MagicalGirl Magical Girl squad]] and a color coded Sentai squad. |
| 35 | * ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' is essentially a buddy cop show with superheroes instead of police officers. |
| 36 | * ''Manga/YoureUnderArrest'' focuses mostly on Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa, starting when the former is transferred to a new precinct and becomes the latter's partner. |
| 37 | [[/folder]] |
| 38 | |
| 39 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 40 | * ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' |
| 41 | * ''ComicBook/CableAndDeadpool'' |
| 42 | * ''ComicBook/{{Chew}}'' |
| 43 | * ''ComicBook/GorskyAndButch'' |
| 44 | * ''Magazine/{{MAD}} Magazine'' devoted a whole page to this trope, with duos Surf&Turf, Dead&Buried, Black&Decker... |
| 45 | * ''ComicBook/QuantumAndWoody'' |
| 46 | * ''ComicBook/TalesDesignedToThrizzle'' features Creator/MarkTwain and UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein as cops in a recurring segment. |
| 47 | [[/folder]] |
| 48 | |
| 49 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 50 | * Parodied on ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'' with [[Comicbook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]] and ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}. |
| 51 | -->'''Rorschach:''' How the hell did I end up being the *GOOD COP*? |
| 52 | * ''FanFic/WeRentTheNight'' is a variation of this. |
| 53 | [[/folder]] |
| 54 | |
| 55 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 56 | * The relationship between Batou and Togusa in ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShell1995 Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence]]'' takes on elements of this. |
| 57 | * ''Film/OsmosisJones'': The titular cop is a rebellious and hot-blooded CowboyCop. Drixenol (Drix) is a somewhat sheltered but well-meaning ByTheBookCop. Together, they fight germs. |
| 58 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Basically a kid-friendly version that takes place in a WorldOfMammals. |
| 59 | [[/folder]] |
| 60 | |
| 61 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 62 | * ''Film/AlienNation'' |
| 63 | * ''[[Film/AsianCopHighVoltage Asian Cop: High Voltage]]'': Featuring a hotheaded Hong Kong cop (Creator/DonnieYen) working with his Philippine partner (Edu Manzano) |
| 64 | * ''Film/AndroidCop'' |
| 65 | * ''Film/BadBoys1995'' |
| 66 | * ''Film/BadBoysII'' |
| 67 | * ''Film/BadBoysForLife'' |
| 68 | * ''Film/BadBoysRideOrDie'' |
| 69 | * ''Film/BeverlyHillsCopI'' |
| 70 | * ''Film/BeverlyHillsCopII'' |
| 71 | * ''Film/BeverlyHillsCopIII'' |
| 72 | * ''Film/{{Bloodmoon}}'' has a wisecracking black detective and a haunted white detective trying to find a martial artist serial killer. |
| 73 | * ''Film/BloodsuckingPharaohsInPittsburgh'' is a spoof movie that puts two buddy cops in the context of a ReligiousHorror SlasherMovie. |
| 74 | * ''Film/BonCopBadCop'' is the most Canadian version of this imaginable. The ByTheBookCop is a native English speaker and the CowboyCop is a native French speaker (though they're both fluently bilingual), and they're hunting down a hockey-obsessed serial killer. |
| 75 | * ''Film/{{Bright}}'' is a buddy cop movie in an alternate Los Angeles where there are elves, orcs, and other fantasy races. Will Smith plays a NobleBigotWithABadge who's partnered with a TokenHeroicOrc. |
| 76 | * ''Film/CityHeat'' - of the TeethClenchedTeamwork variety. |
| 77 | * ''Film/CopAndAHalf'' |
| 78 | * ''Film/TheCorruptor'' starring Chow Yun-fat and Mark Wahlberg, is one of the more serious and cynical examples. |
| 79 | * ''Film/DepartmentQTheKeeperOfLostCauses'' presents a darker variant, due to the NordicNoir elements. Carl is washed-up, uptight and cynical, while Assad is eager, laid-back and actually likes his job. Carl's actually the CowboyCop, but this is treated as a deep character flaw, since it got his first partner severely injured. |
| 80 | * ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance''... to an extent. |
| 81 | * A subplot in the first ''Film/DirtyHarry''. Subverted, as [[spoiler: Harry's partner quits in the second half of the film, just as it seems like they're becoming a team.]] The third film did this as well with [[spoiler: Moore getting herself killed at the end.]] |
| 82 | * ''Film/{{Dragnet}}'' (1987) based on the [[Franchise/{{Dragnet}} TV series]], it pairs Joe Friday (nephew of the original, played by Creator/DanAykroyd), with the much more easy-going and irreverent Pep Streebeck (Creator/TomHanks). |
| 83 | * ''Film/EndOfWatch'' |
| 84 | * ''Film/FreebieAndTheBean'' |
| 85 | * ''Film/TheHidden'' features one such couple, with officer Tom Beck being the emotional and down-to-earth one and FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher (really a PuppeteerParasite inhabiting a human body) being the stoic, [[TheSpock logic-minded]] but [[AlienAmongUs awkward]] one. Interestingly, because Gallagher has a [[ItsPersonal very personal]] reason to go after the bad guy, he's both TheStoic and the CowboyCop of the duo. |
| 86 | * ''Film/TheHighwaymen'' follows Frank Hamer and Maney Gault, the two Texas Rangers who apprehended and killed Bonnie and Clyde. However, while their partnership forms a large part of the plot, it's more of a quiet western drama and neither man (both of them veteran lawmen who came out of retirement for the job) is in a laughing mood given the murderous crime spree they're charged with stopping. |
| 87 | * ''Film/HotFuzz'' is a self-referential one, with the easygoing cop being a huge fan of buddy cop movies and the ByTheBookCop having never seen one. |
| 88 | * ''Film/KissKissBangBang'' teams up bumbling thief-turned-actor Harry Lockhart with detective Gay Perry for on the job experience for a FilmNoir role he's set up for. Naturally, claims of ThisIsReality go out the window when things parallel the detective novels he remembers from his childhood and things get [[LampshadeHanging very lampshade-y]]. |
| 89 | * Parodied in ''Film/LastActionHero'' where the police station in Jack Slater's movie world assigns humorously mismatched partners to every cop except Jack Slater himself, who doesn't work with a partner because he's the bad-ass loner cowboy cop archetype instead. |
| 90 | * ''Film/LethalWeapon''. Arguably the TropeCodifier of the subgenre. |
| 91 | * ''Film/LoadedWeapon1'' exists simply to parody this. |
| 92 | * ''Film/MenInBlack'' staring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. |
| 93 | * ''Film/MissCongeniality 2'' is a female case of this, with the former cop-undercover-as-beauty-pageant being forced to team up with a grumpy humorless officer. |
| 94 | * ''Film/NationalSecurity'' has a slight twist. Neither Creator/SteveZahn's (Hank) nor Creator/MartinLawrence's (Earl) character is a cop. Hank used to be a cop until his partner was killed, and he was filmed supposedly assaulting Earl (he was swatting a bumblebee), causing him to be fired and jailed for 6 months. After getting out, the only job he can get is in security, working for the same company as Earl, who keeps trying to get into the police academy. Hank is trying to find out who killed his partner and track down the warehouse robbers, while Earl is tagging along for the action, which infuriates Hank to no end. Naturally, as the film continues, they resolve their differences and, by the end, both are cops. While neither is really a ByTheBookCop, Hank uses typical police investigative techniques, while Earl goes for the more "street" approach (e.g. Hank is content to sit on the roof for a night-long stakeout, while Earl gets bored and breaks into the bad guys' apartment). |
| 95 | * ''Film/TheNiceGuys'' has a cynical professional thug Healy (Creator/RussellCrowe) teaming up with a PI March (Creator/RyanGosling), setting aside their differences (i.e. when Healy recently snapped his arm for a job) to try and track down a missing girl. Naturally, their BrainsAndBrawn OddCouple setup means hijinks to ensue. That is when [[MoodWhiplash people aren't dying horribly.]] |
| 96 | * ''Film/TheOtherGuys'' |
| 97 | * ''Film/ThePresidio'' - Although neither Inspector Austin nor Lt. Colonel Caldwell particularly like each other, they are forced to work together because neither has the [[JurisdictionFriction jurisdiction]] to pursue the full case alone. |
| 98 | * ''Film/PrincessMadam'' is inspired by the above ''Yes, Madam'', but combined with action scenes inspired by John Woo and HeroicBloodshed. |
| 99 | * ''Film/RedHeat'' |
| 100 | * The ''Film/RushHour'' movies. Creator/JackieChan plays a serious cop, skilled martial artist and very competent detective, who wants to follow procedure. Chris Tucker is the complete opposite. |
| 101 | * ''Film/{{Showtime}}'' has Creator/RobertDeNiro, a serious by-the-book detective, and Creator/EddieMurphy, a patrol cop wishing to play a detective on TV, put together as part of a reality show. Understandably, the former hates the idea, while the latter loves it. For bonus points, the studio tries to coach the "buddy cops" using Creator/WilliamShatner, who keeps referring to himself as [[Series/TJHooker TJ]]. |
| 102 | * ''Film/TangoAndCash'' |
| 103 | * ''Film/TheodoreRex'' has Creator/WhoopiGoldberg play a cyborg cop who teams up with a man-sized T-rex to stop a WellIntentionedExtremist. |
| 104 | * ''Film/UndeclaredWar'' follows the ''Lethal Weapon'' formula with the relationship between its leads, a FishOutOfWater CIA agent assigned on a mission in Hong KOng, where he butts heads with the local police senior he's forcibly teamed up with. They end up becoming FireForgedFriends by the end of the film. |
| 105 | * ''Film/ValerianAndTheCityOfAThousandPlanets'' takes this and combines it with a {{Space Opera}}. |
| 106 | * ''Film/TheWayOfTheLadyBoxers'' is between a Hong Kong cop and a mainland Chinese officer teaming up to solve a case, much like ''Yes, Madam''. |
| 107 | * ''Film/WildWildWest'' paired Jim West (an actual CowboyCop, played by Will Smith) and Artemus Gordon (a BunglingInventor and MasterOfDisguise, played by Kevin Kline) to act as a duo to stop a villain from overthrowing the U.S. Government. They constantly bicker and argue because of their BrainsAndBrawn dynamic, but after they become FireForgedFriends, it's clear that their different skill sets do complement each other. |
| 108 | * ''Film/YesMadam'': A Hong Kong action film where both cops in question are ActionGirl and asskickers (played by Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock) who took on the mob, BackToBackBadasses style. |
| 109 | [[/folder]] |
| 110 | |
| 111 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 112 | * ''Literature/CopCraft'', about a detective and an alternate world knight solving cases. |
| 113 | * In ''Literature/DarkSacredNight'', author Creator/MichaelConnelly teams up his long-time protagonist Detective Literature/HarryBosch and his new protagonist Renee Ballard. Bosch and Ballard recognize each other as kindred spirts and agree to work cases together. |
| 114 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' partners Cuddy, a dwarf, and Detritus, a troll. Of course, ''Discworld'' being a [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality narrative universe]], they eventually become best friends. [[spoiler:The trope is subverted when Cuddy is killed suddenly. Detritus has gone on to become arguably the fourth most powerful cop in the city, behind Angua, Carrot, and Vimes.]] |
| 115 | * ''Literature/TheMirage'': Since this trope is so universically recognized, Matt Ruff needs only nine words for an epic in-universe (fictive cop show) gag: "Shafiq: He's Sunni. Hassan: He's Shia. They fight crime." |
| 116 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/RobotSeries'' novels are an early novel example version of the trope. Gregory Powell and Mike Donovan are field specialists for U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, and are employed mainly on testing new or experimental robots in practical situations -- either on planets or space stations. They regularly get into complex and potentially dangerous situations when trying to solve robot issues in the field. The issues typically involve the [[ThreeLawsCompliant Three Laws of Robotics]]. |
| 117 | * A subplot of ''Literature/{{Otherland}}'' features Australian detectives Calliope Skouros and her partner Stan as they investigate a long-unsolved murder believed to be the work of a SerialKiller named John Wulgaru, who ends up being the series' BigBad. The subplot uses all the standard Buddy Cop tropes and spends a fair bit of time [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] them. |
| 118 | * In "Prom Night" by Creator/LibbaBray (in the anthology ''Literature/ZombiesVsUnicorns''), the kids are running the (now barricaded) town they live in because of a ZombieApocalypse that was OnlyFatalToAdults. Tahmina and Jeff play the role of cops, keeping down crime and shooting any zombies that pop up. The story mostly focuses on their interactions with each other and their (mis)adventures as teenaged cops, and there's a bit of a RunningGag where Jeff constantly jokes about how stuff would be good material for when they get their own TV show. |
| 119 | [[/folder]] |
| 120 | |
| 121 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 122 | * ''Series/Adam12'' |
| 123 | * ''Series/AlarmFuerCobra11'' |
| 124 | * ''Series/AlienNation'' |
| 125 | * ''Series/AlmostHuman'', with the twist that one of the cops is an android whose model was decommissioned for being ''too'' human. |
| 126 | * ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' -- although not a cop show per se, included since two of the show's leads -- Andy and Barney -- were law enforcement officers, their work figured into many of the plots and they often worked together. |
| 127 | * ''Series/AngieTribeca'' is a parody of the genre. |
| 128 | * ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' |
| 129 | * ''{{Series/Beforeigners}}'', he's a single dad with a secret drug problem, she's a Norse sheldmaiden, and together, they fight crime. |
| 130 | * ''[[Series/BlackAndWhiteTW Black and White]]'', an award-winning TaiwaneseSeries from 2009. |
| 131 | * ''Series/CagneyAndLacey'': a pioneering example of [[LovelyAngels both partners being women]]. |
| 132 | * ''Series/Car54WhereAreYou?'' was one of the earliest Buddy Cop shows, and the first TV police comedy. |
| 133 | * ''Series/{{CHiPs}}'' |
| 134 | * ''Series/CommonLaw'' |
| 135 | * ''Literature/DalzielAndPascoe'' |
| 136 | * ''Series/DempseyAndMakepeace'' |
| 137 | * ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'' |
| 138 | * ''Series/DueSouth'' |
| 139 | * ''Series/{{Elementary}}''- a modern ''Sherlock Holmes'' series with Sherlock as a recovering drug addict and Doctor ''Joan'' Watson originally being his sober companion. |
| 140 | * ''Series/{{Fastlane}}'' |
| 141 | * ''Series/ForeverKnight'', adding a vampire as one of the cops mind you. |
| 142 | * ''Series/FutureCop'' |
| 143 | * ''Series/GoldenBoy2013'' |
| 144 | * ''Series/TheGoodDetective'': In which an OldCopYoungCop duo reinvestigate an old case, of a man on death row for murder who turns out to be innocent. |
| 145 | * ''Series/TheGoodGuys'' |
| 146 | * ''Series/{{Graceland}}'' |
| 147 | * ''Series/{{Grimm}}'', played with; the main character is a cop who is also a ''Grimm''- who hunts 'creatures' known as ''Wesen'' who live among humanity- but his partners alternate between his official partner (a normal human) and his main contact/ally in the ''Wesen'' community (a clocksmith who is also a ''Blutbad'', essentially the inspiration for the Big Bad Wolf) |
| 148 | * ''Series/HardSun'' |
| 149 | * ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' |
| 150 | * ''Series/HolmesAndYoyo'' |
| 151 | * ''Houston Knights'' |
| 152 | * ''Series/{{Hunter|NBC}}'' |
| 153 | ** [[Series/Hunter1984 1984 Series]] |
| 154 | ** ''[[Film/TheReturnOfHunterEveryoneWalksInLA Everyone Walks in L.A.]]'' |
| 155 | ** ''[[Film/HunterReturnToJustice Return to Justice]]'' |
| 156 | ** ''[[Film/HunterBackInForce Back in Force]]'' |
| 157 | ** [[Series/Hunter2003 2003 Revival]] |
| 158 | * ''Series/ISpy'' |
| 159 | * ''Series/KeenEddie'' |
| 160 | * ''Series/LethalWeapon2016'' |
| 161 | * ''Series/Life2007'' |
| 162 | * ''Series/LifeOnMars2006'' |
| 163 | * ''Series/LifeOnMars2008'' |
| 164 | * ''Series/{{Llanargollen}}'' follows the detective pursuits of clumsy man Prys ar Frys, and his female DetectiveAnimal friend Ceri, both of them being [[OddCouple complete opposites from each other]], as they attempt to crack any case that occurs in their village. The show has a more lighthearted feel than usual, as it is a PreschoolShow after all. |
| 165 | * ''Series/Lucifer2016'' |
| 166 | * ''Series/TheMallorcaFiles'' |
| 167 | * ''Series/TheMeetingPlaceCannotBeChanged'' |
| 168 | * ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' |
| 169 | * ''Series/TheMentalist'' |
| 170 | * ''Series/MiamiVice'' |
| 171 | * ''Series/NewBlood'' |
| 172 | * ''Series/NewYorkUndercover'', notable for being the first police drama on American television to feature two people of color in the starring roles. |
| 173 | * ''Series/OlmosYRobles'' |
| 174 | * ''Series/TheProfessionals''. An InvokedTrope by [[DaChief George Cowley]] who has [=CI5=] agents from diverse backgrounds working in teams of two, with neither the senior partner. The leads in this case are ex-police officer Ray Doyle and ex-military (mercenary, para and SAS) William Bodie. |
| 175 | * ''Series/RandallAndHopkirkDeceased'' where they are private eyes instead of detectives, oh an one of them dies in the first episode and becomes a [[SpiritAdvisor ghost who only the other can see]] and who has some handy ghost powers like phasing through walls. |
| 176 | * ''Series/RoboCopTheSeries'' |
| 177 | * ''Series/RizzoliAndIsles'' |
| 178 | * ''Series/RushHour'' |
| 179 | * ''Series/TheSentinel'' |
| 180 | ** Slightly averted in that only Jim is a cop. Blair is an anthropology student who's studying Jim's superhuman senses as part of his thesis, although he ends up helping to solve a lot of crimes as well (mostly by coaching Jim on how to best use his senses). |
| 181 | * ''Series/SimonAndSimon'', although it's more of a "buddy detective'' show. |
| 182 | * ''Series/SledgeHammer'' |
| 183 | * ''Series/TheStrangeCalls'' is a supernatural comedy variant. The show deals with Toby Banks, a young cop who's sidelined by his superiors, working the night shift assisted by the "town security" Gregor, and older man who's not a cop but has extensive knowledge of the town. |
| 184 | * ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'': Possibly the TropeCodifier. |
| 185 | * ''Series/TheStreetsOfSanFrancisco'' - where Creator/KarlMalden played the old, experienced cop vs the young loose-cannon Creator/MichaelDouglas 15 years before Creator/MelGibson made Creator/DannyGlover feel too old for this shit. |
| 186 | * ''Series/StreetJustice'' gives us a variation with the two lead characters, in that, while Adam is a (mostly) straight-laced detective-sergeant, Grady isn't a cop at all, but a streetwise martial arts expert with disdain for the rules and red tape that come with police procedure. |
| 187 | * ''Series/TJHooker'' |
| 188 | * ''Series/TrueDetective'' Season 1 focuses on Louisiana State Police homicide detectives Rustin "Rust" Cohle and Martin "Marty" Hart. |
| 189 | * ''Series/ViennaBlood'' is a PeriodDrama that pairs ByTheBookCop Inspector Oskar Reinhardt with an aspiring forensic psychologist, the EurekaMoment-prone Max Liebermann, in 1906 Vienna, Austria, while they investigate murder cases. |
| 190 | * ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' |
| 191 | * ''Series/WhiteCollar'' |
| 192 | ** Peter is a top FBI agent in the White Collar division. Neal is a former con man and forger who was caught by Peter several times and now helps the FBI track down people like him. |
| 193 | * ''Series/TheXFiles'' |
| 194 | [[/index]] |
| 195 | !!!Parodies: |
| 196 | * ''Series/{{Community}}'' parodies this in "The Science of Illusion" when Annie and Shirley become temporary campus security guards. They end up getting into an argument about which one of them should be the ByTheBookCop and which one should be the CowboyCop despite the fact that both of them are equally suited to both roles, and Abed, who is following them around, ends up invoking a whole load of tropes based on this. |
| 197 | * Spoofed in a Creator/ConanOBrien sketch, which paired the extremely tall Conan with the extremely short Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich as buddy cops. Reich informing a perp "You have the right... to be my [[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch bitch]]!" |
| 198 | * Also parodied on ''Series/TheLateLateShow with Craig Ferguson''--Geoff often refers to his idea for a cop show called ''Bone Patrol with G.P. and the Fergs''. |
| 199 | * Spoofed in the Les Nuls sketch "Magnum Choucroute." Talk about [[OddCouple mismatched]]: one of the cops is actually a jar of sauerkraut. |
| 200 | * Parodied on ''Series/MadTV1995'' with the "Seven Buddy Cops" sketch, which is a massive crossover starring Creator/NickNolte, Creator/EddieMurphy, Creator/ChrisTucker, Creator/JackieChan, Creator/OwenWilson, Creator/TommyLeeJones, and Creator/WillSmith giving shout outs to all the buddy cop movies they starred in while trying to solve the case of the dead prostitutes on the orders of DaChief. Even Creator/MelGibson and Creator/DannyGlover (aka ''Film/LethalWeapon'''s Murtaugh and Riggs) make a cameo. |
| 201 | * In ''Series/NoahsArc'', the movie Wade had written appears to be one of these (based on the lines we overhear and what Wade and Noah discuss). |
| 202 | [[/folder]] |
| 203 | |
| 204 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 205 | * It's not uncommon for players of ''TabletopGame/FengShui'' to design Karate and Maverick Cop characters to fit this mold, with the Karate Cop being the ByTheBookCop type, and the Maverick Cop being the rule-breaker. The 2056 juncture has its own little twist on this particular genre, the "buddy cop romance". These movies basically take the homoerotic elements that Buddy Cop movies often have and carry them to their logical conclusion. |
| 206 | [[/folder]] |
| 207 | |
| 208 | [[folder:Video Games]][[index]] |
| 209 | * ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': |
| 210 | ** Prosecutors are the direct partners of their detective counterparts in the series, which makes Gumshoe and Edgeworth fill this trope during their cases in ''Investigations''. |
| 211 | ** There's also an unnamed ShowWithinAShow that Gumshoe likes featuring a strong prosecutor/detective bond that's almost as good as the one Gumshoe (thinks that he) shares with Edgeworth. |
| 212 | * The arcade game ''VideoGame/ChaseHQ'', while not a straight example, has a ShoutOut to the Buddy Cop genre. |
| 213 | ** It's ''VideoGame/RollingThunder''-like spinoff game ''Crime City'' is a straighter example. |
| 214 | * ''VideoGame/CrimeCity'' is a Buddy Cop RunAndGun actioner. |
| 215 | * ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'' has [[FantasticRacism anti-Android]] CowboyCop Hank Anderson forced to work alongside Android detective Connor to solve a series of Androids [[GrowBeyondTheirProgramming going Deviant]], and they quickly develop this dynamic. |
| 216 | * In ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'', the PlayerCharacter's partner, Kim Kitsuragi, is very fleshed out, frequently chimes in during conversations, and while he generally follows the player's lead, preferring to disappear into the background, he will take over from the main character if he feels strongly that the player is hindering the investigation. Whether him and the player character become True Companions or only stick it out for the sake of the case is once again down to the player and their choices. |
| 217 | * ''VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill'' is all about this sort of relationship between Isaac Washington (foul-mouthed CowboyCop) and Agent G (enigmatic professional secret agent). |
| 218 | * Namco's arcade game ''VideoGame/LuckyAndWild'', a combination of a driving game and light gun game where player one drives and shoots while player 2 just shoots. |
| 219 | * ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'''s crime fighting duo Caitlyn and Vi are a uncommon example of this trope, being that they are both women. |
| 220 | * ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' is a Buddy Cop show with robots. The two main protagonists, X and Zero form this dynamic, investigating threats and taking down criminal robots (dubbed in-universe as Mavericks) in a distant future. X is the warrior pacifist who prefers to negotiate and seek peaceful means, contrasting the staightforward and battle-hardened Zero. The two are practially inseparable most of the time. |
| 221 | * ''VisualNovel/{{Policenauts}}'', essentially a Sci-Fi version of ''Film/LethalWeapon''. |
| 222 | [[/folder]] |
| 223 | |
| 224 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 225 | * ''WebAnimation/CivilProtection'', which stars two Civil Protection agents, Mike and Dave, from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''.[[/index]] |
| 226 | * Parodied in ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' during the trailer for ''Sarge 2: Sarge Harder'' where the serious and gruff Sarge is partnered with the upbeat and lax Tucker. |
| 227 | [[/folder]] |
| 228 | |
| 229 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 230 | * ''Webcomic/{{Chainsawsuit}}'': Parodied with [[http://chainsawsuit.com/comic/2010/07/12/two-chops/ Two Cops]], who accidentally enrolled in the police academy twice, and is therefore buddies with ''himself''.[[index]] |
| 231 | * ''Webcomic/DoubleK'', an ''AU'' ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' webcomic based off of what the show would be like if Kamina and Kittan were two cops partnered up ''Starsky & Hutch''-style. |
| 232 | * ''Webcomic/{{Matchu}}'' has its Space Cops subplot, starring two aliens coming to Earth looking for an escaped fugitive from their homeworld and running afowl of one of the main characters. Complete with title sequence, episode card and ''commercial break''. |
| 233 | [[/folder]] |
| 234 | |
| 235 | [[folder:Web Original]][[/index]] |
| 236 | * ''AudioPlay/BelowBoard'' is about two detectives with somewhat mismatched personalities in 1930s New Orleans.[[/index]] |
| 237 | * ''Website/{{Cracked}}'''s #1 [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-4-weirdest-lessons-80s-movies-really-wanted-to-teach-us_p2/ Weirdest Lesson '80s Movies Really Wanted to Teach Us]] calls the buddy cop film an easy way to involve a TokenMinority. |
| 238 | * During a LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', [[LetsPlay/FreelanceAstronauts Maxwell]] randomly brings up that there'd be a lot of comedy potential between Canada and Australia, which the others develop into an idea for a buddy cop movie with Australia as the wacky, wisecracking cop and Canada as the serious cop who's getting too old for this. |
| 239 | * Parodied in ''Website/TheOnion'', in which a [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/veteran-cop-gets-along-great-with-rookie-partner,1818/ tough veteran cop gets along great with his mismatched rookie partner]]. |
| 240 | [[/folder]] |
| 241 | |
| 242 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 243 | * ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' has done this a few times with Steve and Roger. The two of them enjoy watching buddy cop shows, and decide to form their own duo, and they eventually settle on Wheels and the Legman, the gimmick being that one of them is in a wheelchair and the other isn't. The two of them argue over which of them gets to be Wheels, which leads to them splitting up, both in wheelchairs, and getting their own partners. Steve gets Bill Elliot (Who's catchphrase is "You're on a roll, Wheels) and Roger gets a fat black girl dressed as an angel (Who's catchphrase is "You gonna finish that?"). After Steve deduces that Roger's partner isn't a real angel because she eats devil's food cake, Roger concedes and the two get back together with Steve as Wheels and Roger as the Legman. |
| 244 | * ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh'' did this in-universe with Gandhi and George Washington Carver. Their submission (Gandhi's idea, really) for a film festival was a buddy cop film called "Black and Tan".[[index]] |
| 245 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Bonkers}}'' has the titular character (a washed-up cartoon star in the form of a FunnyAnimal bobcat who operates on Toon physics/logic) and Lucky, who is an ordinary human.[[note]]Previous episodes before that however, had Bonkers partnered with Miranda, a female police officer who is also an ordinary human. The "Miranda" era episodes were later [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] as taking place after the "Lucky" era episodes.[[/note]][[/index]] |
| 246 | * ''Cosmic Cowboys'', a SpaceWestern featuring the FunnyAnimal duo Curtis and Dook. |
| 247 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'', in the episode "Sherman of Arabia," heavily mocked this genre with ''[[ShowWithinAShow Beverly Hills Robo K9 Cop and a Half 2]]'', wherein CowboyCop ''Film/DirtyHarry'' is partnered with, to quote the Website/IMDb... |
| 248 | -->'''DaChief:''' ...a woman, a cute little kid, an ugly old dog, a dinosaur, and a leprechaun.\ |
| 249 | '''Leprechaun:''' I'll be your lucky charm!\ |
| 250 | ''[leprechaun explodes]''\ |
| 251 | '''[[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Not Schwarzenegger]]:''' You think you've got problems? I'm partnered with a pig, an alien, Siamese twins, a sofa, and a second rate mime.\ |
| 252 | (The mime also exploded.)[[index]] |
| 253 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'': A [[BuddyCopShow Buddy]] [[YellowSashOfPower Hall Monitor Show]]. |
| 254 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in the ''Bedrock Cops'' segments on ''The Flintstone Comedy Show''.[[note]]Not to be confused with the syndicated version of "The Flintstone Comedy Hour", which is essentially the second season of WesternAnimation/ThePebblesAndBammBammShow.[[/note]] |
| 255 | * ''WesternAnimation/FunkyCops'' |
| 256 | * ''WesternAnimation/OzzyAndDrix'', which takes place inside a boy's body, and is [[RecycledTheSeries based on the much-maligned movie]] ''Film/OsmosisJones''. |
| 257 | * Adult Swim's ''WesternAnimation/StrokerAndHoop'' |
| 258 | [[/folder]] |
| 259 | [[/index]] |
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