The new CBS show Golden Boy premiered last night (to middling ratings), focusing on how the youngest Police Commissioner in history (at 34 years old) got to One Police Plaza. Of course, it's all fiction, following the story of "a young cop who rises quickly through the ranks" to get behind the big desk. So what else is fictionalized? Just check out their version of One Police Plaza:
Here's what that looks like in real life:
And here's the Commissioner's insane, glass-enclosed office on the show, featuring expansive views of the city:
We've never been personally invited to Ray Kelly's office, and photos are hard to track down, but this one makes his office seem much more modest. The show did get a few things right though. In it, Police Commissioner William Clark, Jr. is asked, "How does it feel to be sitting behind Teddy Roosevelt's desk?" Theodore Roosevelt became president of the board of New York City Police Commissioners in 1895, and remained there for two years, reforming the police department. Later, as Governor of New York State, he signed an act replacing the Police Commissioners with a single Police Commissioner. And today, Ray Kelly does sit at his old desk.
Police Commissioners Theodore Roosevelt, Golden Boy, and Ray Kelly
The show also got a very accurate portrayal of NY1, wisely casting Pat Kiernan as himself:
