REVIEW: ‘Will Trent’ hints at time when Steven Bochco ruled police dramas

Largely visible in Ramon Rodriguez’s lead performance, they suggest there’s more here than just another procedural.

Rodriguez (as the titular character) has enough quirks to make him almost as interesting as Tony Shalhoub’s “Monk.” He wears three-piece suits, drives a Porsche that’s been tagged, picks up a stray dog and tries to live down a past that involves an early suspect.

In the first two episodes, Trent runs into a former classmate whose daughter and wife are wrapped up in a murder case. While investigating the scene, Trent finds clues that don’t necessarily add up. Helping him suss things out: dyslexia, a diagnosis that wouldn’t make him a likely candidate for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations.

As the series unfolds, we meet a host of co-workers and friends. They exhibit varying degrees of approval and, frequently, marvel at the stiff, almost no-nonsense investigator’s ability to come up with motives.

With Mark-Paul Gosselaar as the classmate, there’s plenty of baggage to unpack.

Was he somehow involved in the murder of a young man? Is a teacher responsible for actions in the neighborhood? Could a tennis racquet really be a weapon?

Unlike many of the CBS crime shows, this one has its own thread weaving through the story of the week. Relationships (particularly Trent’s with a co-worker) bear watching. When a “person of interest” notices he doesn’t take notes during their interview, he’s very matter of fact: “I have a good memory, but I’m a pretty observant guy.”

Based on Karin Slaughter’s bestselling books, “Will Trent” doesn’t lay everything out right away, but drips details like so much blood at a crime scene. The opener, written by Liz Heldens and Dan Thomsen and directed by Paul McGuigan, sets up the situation nicely, then surprises with the secrets Trent has been guarding.

Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen), a co-worker with her own baggage, has the best shot at unpacking his. She owns up to her past, giving Christensen many emotions to play.

“Will Trent” borrows plenty from the past (the Carpenters, for example) and dabbles in the present (the pronoun debate) before settling in a world so remote from Cabot Cove you couldn’t classify the series as similar.

“Trent,” in fact, delights in its ability to stretch a story (not unlike “Big Sky”) over multiple episodes. It veers long enough to suggest the murder plot isn’t the sole thought on anyone’s mind and lets Rodriguez exercise enough authority to heal old wounds. When he cracks (you’ll remember the moment), this becomes a journey into what makes a person choose a line of work.

While the series doesn’t explore Atlanta in a way it should (perhaps that’s coming), it does give its actors plenty to chew on.

When Gosselaar is the least interesting person in the show, you know it’s onto something. Betty, the dog, bears watching, too. Just don’t try to put her in a trash can. The series could erupt.

“Will Trent” premieres in January on ABC.