DEA (2008 TV series)
DEA is an American reality television series that ran for fifteen, hour-long episodes in two seasons from April 2, 2008 to March 31, 2009 on the Spike television network. DEA follows the jobs of a squad of Drug Enforcement Administration special agents as they track down leads and make narcotics busts on houses suspected of selling, producing, or trafficking drugs. The first season was filmed in Detroit, Michigan and consisted of six episodes aired from April 2, 2008 to May 7, 2008.[1] The second season in the New York/New Jersey area consisted of nine episodes aired from February 10, 2009 to March 31, 2009 and follows a group of DEA agents and Task Force officers operating out of the DEA's northern New Jersey headquarters located in Newark.[2] The show was produced for Spike TV by Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. in association with Size 12 Productions.
| DEA | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Narrated by | Lance Henriksen |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 15 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. in association with Size 12 Productions. |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Spike |
| Original release | April 2, 2008 – March 31, 2009 |
The first season follows DEA Group 14, while the second season follows a team of agents known as "Group 5-6", based at the DEA Newark Field Division office at 80 Mulberry Street, Newark New Jersey.[3]
The series was narrated by Lance Henriksen.
Episodes
Season 1 (2008)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "DEA vs. Heroin Kingpin" | April 2, 2008 |
| 2 | 2 | "Deadly Chase" | April 9, 2008 |
| 3 | 3 | "Operation Pill Grinder" | April 16, 2008 |
| 4 | 4 | "Up the Ladder" | April 23, 2008 |
| 5 | 5 | "Deep Cover" | April 30, 2008 |
| 6 | 6 | "Marijuana Grow House" | May 7, 2008 |
Season 2 (2009)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "The Six Million Dollar Heroin Bust" | February 10, 2009 |
| 8 | 2 | "DEA vs. the Juarez Cartel" | February 17, 2009 |
| 9 | 3 | "Showdown With the Colombian Drug Cartel" | February 24, 2009 |
| 10 | 4 | "The Million Dollar Money Drop" | March 3, 2009 |
| 11 | 5 | "Flip the Stripper" | March 10, 2009 |
| 12 | 6 | "Drug Dealing Deli" | March 17, 2009 |
| 13 | 7 | "Two Million Dollar Dead Drop" | March 24, 2009 |
| 14 | 8 | "The Undercover Cocaine Bust" | March 31, 2009 |
| 15 | 9 | "Big Rig Meth Bust" | March 31, 2009 |
Reception
A review of show's debut by The New York Times described the series as "an argument that the trend of shows about real people doing their jobs ought to be put out of its misery", while crediting the show as "an extended public service announcement".[4]
References
- "Spike TV's "DEA: Detroit" hits shelves Feb. 10". Monsters and Critics. 2009-02-10. Archived from the original on 2012-10-03.
- "PDFNJ celebrates premiere of Spike TV's DEA Series". Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.
- "Reality of the DEA". Glocally Newark. Archived from the original on 2010-01-30.
- Neil Genzlinger (2008-04-02). "Television Review: Drug War in Detroit, Macho Style". The New York Times.