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The creators of a new Fox TV series, 鈥淪hots Fired,鈥� hope to explore topics including race and the justice system with their program, the latest broadcast series to look at contemporary issues following the critical success of, for one, ABC鈥檚 TV show 鈥淎merican Crime.鈥�

鈥淪hots,鈥� which debuts on March 22 and is set to run for 10 episodes, looks at two cases: one involving a young white man who was killed by a black member of the sheriff鈥檚 department, and one in which a young African-American man was killed and the mostly white sheriff鈥檚 department may have been involved. The Department of Justice and the state are looking into the death of the young white man, while the other incident gets much less attention.聽

The program stars Sanaa Lathan, Stephan James, Stephen Moyer, and Tristan Wilds.

Co-creators Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood, who are both black, 聽that in creating the series, they were inspired by the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and George Zimmerman鈥檚 acquittal. But they twisted the expected story, so the police officer who fatally shoots a young man is black, and the young man himself is white.聽鈥淛ust that alone, to be able to challenge people鈥檚 points of view just in the way you would look at the story, that was compelling,鈥� Mr. Bythewood told the AP.聽

The program is TV creators' latest attempt to explore contemporary issues, with past successes including the classic sitcom 鈥淎ll in the Family,鈥� which centered on the prejudiced Archie Bunker, and 鈥淭he Wire,鈥� which depicted drug-dealing and schools, among other topics, in present-day Baltimore.聽

聽comments that聽viewers may be surprised to see 鈥淪hots鈥� on a broadcast network, noting, 鈥淲ith its provocative subject matter, 鈥楽hots Fired鈥� sounds more suited for a cable outlet such as HBO or FX.鈥�

Yet 鈥淪hots鈥� landed at Fox. And in some ways, it resembles ABC's 鈥淎merican Crime,鈥� with its seemingly unlikely network home and single-season storytelling. The anthology show 鈥淐rime,鈥� which debuted in 2015, was positively received by critics, with the program receiving Emmy nominations that same year for awards including best limited series and best lead actor and lead actress in a limited series or movie for Timothy Hutton and Felicity Huffman, respectively. Actress Regina King won the best supporting actress in a limited series or movie Emmy for her work on the show.

The third season of 鈥淐rime鈥� just debuted on March 12. This season centers on migrant workers, while past seasons explored issues including racism, the legal system, and sexual assault.聽

calls 鈥淪hots鈥� and 鈥淐rime鈥� 鈥渂roadcast dramas with a cable edge.鈥�

鈥淭his is all tricky territory for broadcast TV,鈥� she writes of the subjects in聽鈥淐rime,鈥澛犫�渨hich might envy cable its cachet 鈥� especially during awards season 鈥� but which can鈥檛 afford to alienate advertisers or the broader audience.鈥�