Line #43 Series/AgainstTheWall


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/orig.jpeg]]
2	''Against The Wall'' is an American crime show that premiered on Creator/{{Lifetime}} in July 2011. It follows Det. Abby Kowalski (Rachel Carpani) as she breaks from her family policing tradition to join the Internal Affairs Division of the UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} Police Department, and the turmoil that brings to her life plays out alongside the her investigation of the MysteryOfTheWeek. Key characters include the heavily-pregnant Detective Lina Flores, her partner at IA, and the rest of the Kowalski family including father Don Kowalski and older brothers Richie, Steve and Donnie Kowalski (all beat cops).
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4	Compare to ''Series/BlueBloods'', a show with a similar concept set in New York.
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7	!!The show provides examples of:
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9	* AlmightyMom: Sheila.
10	* AlwaysGetsHisMan: Averted in the fifth episode.
11	* BadassFamily: The Kowalskis.
12	* BettyAndVeronica: Brody and Dan for Abby. Richie thinks Dan is the Betty and Brody the Veronica though Brody turns out to have surprising hidden depths.
13	* ByTheBookCop: Lina more than Abby, who tends to bend the rules if she deems it worthwhile.
14	* BluffingTheMurderer: A few times.
15	* ClickHello: Combined with DramaticGunCock [[spoiler: when Abby rescues Lina from the stalker summons officer]].
16	* ClosetShuffle: Abby has to hide under the bed when a drunken Richie comes over to visit Brody.
17	* CrimeTimeSoap: Abby's family/personal life is just as prevalent, if not more so, the MysteryOfTheWeek.
18	* CowboyCop: When Abby goes renegade, Papadol suspends her for a week without pay.
19	* DaChief: Papadol.
20	* DaddysGirl: Abby and Don had this relationship, by the end of the series they've repaired it back to this.
21	* DamselInDistress: Lina when [[spoiler: the stalker summons officer ambushes her in the carpark. Cue Abby's BigDamnHeroes rescue]].
22	* DirtyCop: With IA investigating, of course. Lt Bob Barcelli is a prime example.
23	* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Averted. Nikki the undercover cop turns out to be on the good guys' side all along.]]
24	* FairCop: Male and female examples aplenty.
25	* FriendsWithBenefits: What Abby wants with Brody.
26	* GoodCopBadCop: Abby and Lina use and {{lampshade\|Hanging}} this routine when they interrogate a summons officer accused of stalking his therapist.
27	* HappilyAdopted: [[spoiler: Donnie]] by the end of the episode in which the adoption is revealed, it seems.
28	* HappilyMarried: Plenty of couples. Carlos and Lina, Richie and Lauren, Steve and his wife and of course the Abby's parents, Don and Sheila.
29	* HelloAttorney: Danny.
30	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Abby and Mackie. Abby and Lina are developing this vibe. Brody and Richie are this earlier in the season before Brody and Abby's RelationshipReveal. Added points for actually being cop partners too.
31	* InternalAffairs: Deconstructed. They're nice people out to catch dirty cops and protect the innocent majority.
32	* InterruptedIntimacy: Abby has to hide under Brody's bed when her drunk brother Richie turns up for a midnight visit.
33	* TheKlutz: Abby.
34	* LastNameBasis: We don't even find out Brody's first name till the ninth episode. It is John.
35	* LoveTriangle: Abby/Brody/Danny. Lampshaded when Lina advises Abby to "choose one".
36	* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: An investigation of a brawl at a wedding turns into a [[spoiler: rape investigation]].
37	* MomentKiller: Richie seems to have a tendency to walk in on his sister at inopportune moments. Mid-making-out with Danny on her rooftop being the latest example. Cue Danny's awkward exit.
38	* PaedoHunt: Against a priest who turns out to have been wrongly accused.
39	* PregnantBadass: Lina. Played fairly realistically in that she does not really get into the action too much, but she never backs down and she still her detective-smarts. Not to be messed with even in her third trimester.
40	* RelationshipUpgrade: What Brody wants with Abby. From FriendsWithBenefits to an actual relationship.
41	* ReligiousBruiser: Don and Shelia are both portrayed as devout Catholics, but with Don being a cop, he isn't afraid to throw down against some of the bad guys. Shelia herself pulled a gun on a gangbanger who had come to harass her and her former gang-related employee, whom she hired as a favor to a Nun friend of theirs.
42	* RevengeByProxy: One villain targets the daughter of the man he really wanted vengeance on.
43	* SecretRelationship: Abby and Brody. Leads to an in-universe RelationshipReveal.
44	* ShellShockedVeteran: An unusual variant. A crime-scene photographer gets [=PTSD=] and becomes an alcoholic after working too many crime scenes.
45	* ShipTease: Donnie and Mackie.
46	* SpicyLatina: Averted with Lina, who is generally very calm, cool and collected during her work.
47	* StalkerWithACrush: Summons officer Fletcher for his therapist, and previously for a barista.
48	* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Abby's claim that she and Brody are not in a relationship. No sir. Not at all.
49	* TheUnreveal: The first season CliffHanger ending, which is a shot of the love interest Abby chose looking at her at her apartment door.
50	* WellDoneSonGuy: Lampshaded in the first episode by Abby's mother, and a major part of Abby's angst regarding her taking the Internal Affairs job. Then later in another episode it's a case of WellDoneSonGuy as her older brother, Donnie, is portrayed as constantly seeking his father's approval and pride.
51	* WhatTheHellHero: Both Danny and Brody call Abby out on the fact she's basically stringing them both along without making a choice.
52	* WorthIt: When Papadol suspends Abby for going against his orders, he asks her if it was worth it. She replies that it was.

Context Series / AgainstTheWall