AGAINST THE WALL: Brandon Quinn On Siblings, Cop Dramas & Why You Should Watch

Brandon Quinn wants you to know that Lifetime’s new series Against the Wall isn’t just another gritty police drama. It’s about family, who happen to be in law enforcement. Phoning from his vacation in upstate New York, the actor enthusiastically discusses his new series and his hopes for twenty seasons playing Officer Richie Kowalski.

Against the Wall stars Rachael Carpani, a favorite of mine, as Abby Kowalski. Abby is the only girl in a family of three police officer brothers and a retired police offer father, and she’s just taken a position as a detective with Chicago’s Internal Affairs department. Brandon’s Richie is closest to Abby, sharing a special bond with her and providing both honest advice and a shoulder to cry on when things go wrong. The connection between the two is clear in the pilot and one that Brandon relishes.

“Richie and Abby have an extremely close relationship. We’re a really, really close family but I would say that Richie and Abby have the closest connection between all the siblings,” Brandon explains. “I’m her shoulder to cry on, her confidant. Unlike the other siblings, I listen to her, I’m proud of her. Mom taught us to do what makes us happy and to follow our dreams, despite the fact that we’re third generation cops and Internal Affairs is the enemy. You’ll see in later episodes that he’s extremely protective of Abby. Like, extremely.”

It’s not always easy between the two of them, though. In the final scenes of the pilot episode, Richie becomes involved in a situation that puts him under investigation by IA. Brandon reveals that this storyline will continue for several episodes and will strain the siblings’ relationship.

“The bottom line is that family comes first for the Kowalskis. But [Richie & Abby] do get to a place that they’ve never had to deal with before. There are some scenes in later episodes where Richie verbally goes after her and that worried me. I would call the writers and ask, ‘Don’t you think he’s being too much of a jerk to her?’ They assured me that, no, it made sense in context so I went with it. But it turns out well.”

Their mother, played by the always brilliant Kathy Baker, takes life as matriarch of a law enforcement family in stride, but turns to baking when she’s stressed. Abby has her own quirks, including singing to herself when she’s worried or stressed.

“Abby has so many quirky character traits that they’ve given her and that Rachael performs to perfection. Like, her nervous tic is singing, and it’s adorable. I love it,” Brandon chuckles. “There’s an underlying humor to the way that she approaches things, and it makes her character so endearing and genuine.”

Brandon has nothing but praise for his co-stars, especially Rachael who carries the most responsibility as the lead on the show. He sounds like a proud older brother when he talks about how she handles the work load and the pressure as the star of the show.

“Rachael is such a beautiful person, such a champ. She lives on set from sun up to sun down. She could so easily be a diva, but she’s just the most laid back, roll with the punches, down to Earth girl,” Brandon says. “She has the most amazing attitude. She’s so wonderful and so pleasant. Everyone loves her.”

Lifetime seems to be going after the viewers who love procedurals like CSI and Law & Order with Against the Wall, but the series is so much richer than that. It’s a character-driven show first, with the case of the week in the supporting role. That exactly why Brandon loves the series and why he is so passionate about the project. Listening to him talk about why he loves the show so much, you’d think he was a fanboy rather than a series regular. From the top down, he feels that Against the Wall is something special.

“I think Annie Brunner [creator of Against the Wall] does such a great job of developing the characters,” Brandon says as he muses on what it is that appeals to him about this project. “I love the dynamic. Even as a kid I’d get way more into character-driven shows than the procedurals. I like the cop shows, but I want to know, what goes on when they’re not at work? What goes on behind closed doors? Our show gets into that. You get all this cop stuff, but you also get this great family stuff.”

He isn’t the only one who feels this way. Recalling the time between filming the pilot and Lifetime giving the series the greenlight, Brandon remembers daily calls to co-star Treat Williams (the Kowalski patriarch) asking each other if they’d heard anything yet and imparting the latest scuttlebutt about the production.

“It’s not just another job,” Brandon says earnestly. “I think we’re really putting down some great work. I think it’s a special project, one that doesn’t come around very often in one’s career. I’m knocking wood that we’ll get to go for 20 seasons.”

Against the Wall premieres Sunday, July 31 at 10/9c on Lifetime.