Zee Cafe raises its entertainment ante with new show, ROOKIE BLUE

The series centers around the lives of five rookie cops from 15 divisions who have just graduated from the academy. Rookie Blue is a youthful, heartfelt, character-driven workplace drama about five rookie cops plunged into the high stakes world of big city policing - a world where even the smallest mistake can have life-or-death consequences. The series follows them just out of the police academy where they bonded together, fought together, drank together, worked together and slept together. And now they're on the job together. They're kids with guns, learning firsthand the hardest kind of policing there is. They are first responders and they are about to learn that no amount of training prepares you for life. They must learn not only to deal with their duties as police officers, but also deal with the problems and expectation of their families and friends.

In the premiere episode, "Fresh Paint," triumph turns to humiliation when a high-stakes takedown of a suspect goes awry. Andy McNally has made a critical rookie mistake, ruining a long-running undercover drug sting, and tries to make up for it by going face to face with a volatile gunman who already has one man's blood on his hands.

Andy, a 26-year-old perfectionist and honest to a fault, has always just wanted to be a good cop. Her father was a cop, and while he wasn't the best cop -- or the best father - Andy knows she'll never find this sense of family, loyalty and excitement in any other job.

The other "first responders" to jump into the fray include Traci, Andy's best friend, a single mom with a six-year-old son. Traci is street smart, sardonic and highly independent - all of which hide a deep well of insecurity. Then there's Dov, the archetypal thrill-seeker whose attitude stems from being raised by hippie parents; Chris, the straight-and-narrow poster boy for the force and a walking talking police manual; and Gail, the self-serving politico from cop royalty, whose ambition is so blind that she'll trample anyone who gets in her way. Add to the mix Detective Sam Swarek, a rogue training officer, and Luke Callaghan, a charming workaholic homicide detective, and Andy will have more on her hands on and off the beat then she could have ever foreseen.

"Rookie Blue" stars Missy Peregrym ("Heroes," "Reaper") as Andy McNally, Gregory Smith ("Everwood") as Dov Epstein, Charlotte Sullivan (Syfy's "Alice") as Gail Peck, Enuka Okuma ("24") as Traci Nash, Travis Milne ("My Green House") as Chris Diaz, Ben Bass ("The Eleventh Hour") as Sam Swarek and Eric Johnson ("Smallville") as Detective Luke Callaghan. Also starring in the series is Melanie Nicholls-King ("The Wire") as Noelle Williams, Matt Gordon as Oliver Shaw, Noam Jenkins as Detective Jerry Barber and Lyric Bent as Frank Best.

In the U.S the premiere drew 7.253 million viewers and an audience share in 18-49 categories of 2.0 out of 6. The premiere became the most successful scripted summer debut in over a year and in year and in nearly six years.

Rookie Blue is a Canadian police drama television series created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron and Ellen Vanstone. It stars Missy Peregrym as Andy McNally, Enuka Okuma as Traci Nash, Travis Milne as Chris Diaz, Charlotte Sullivan as Gail Peck, Gregory Smith as Dov Epstein, and Ben Bass as Sam Swarek.