Story by: Terri “TerriTV” Clark

Written by: Malik Pollard

I LOVE GAME NIGHT. One of the games I most love playing is “Clue” and I’d like to think I am pretty good at solving the crime. Admittedly, I like Murder Mysteries in General. I have been to some Murder Mystery dinners in and around the Washington DC Metro area, and they are always fun. The food could be better, but I usually can deal as long as the game is interesting. The one thing I haven’t done yet is the Murder Mystery Train. It’s on my Bucket List!

For as much as I like Murder Mysteries, you would think I would be into Crime Shows. Unfortunately, not so much. That is until TV One introduced ATL Homicide last season. What made this crime show different than the others I have seen on TV is that ATL Homicide thrusts its viewers smack dab into the middle of the crime scene where you almost become one of the detectives and have the opportunity to solve the “whodunit”. Moreover, what makes this show great is the fact that these are real cases that are solved by two very real detectives: Quinn and Velazquez are two Atlanta Police Department veterans. David Quinn and Vince Velazquez have spent fifteen years working side by side in the homicide division, and they brought some of their most heinous crimes and experiences while on the department to prime time television. Season one was a TV One hit, so you can just imagine my exhilaration when I heard that the show was coming back for a second season; then to have the opportunity to visit the set where “it all goes down” and be a fly on the wall while the show is being produced was like this super sleuth’s dream come true.

0830 (I sound official already) I arrived on set, Quinn and Velazquez were already in place. I was gearing up for my interview, but first let me take a selfie for Instagram. [Click] “Angles” [Post]. It didn’t take “no time” before my post was reposted and shared many times over. Fellow crime solver Tyi Flood commented, “I Loove This Show. It’s intriguing. I’m a crime show person, so seeing a show with real life crime is always exciting. The way they narrate it is also good.” Other comments had similar sentiments. Crime show enthusiast or not, everyone agreed on just how GOOD this show is.

Sitting down with David Quinn and Vince Velazquez my first obvious question was how did two Atlanta Homicide Detectives get linked up with TV One to have one of the most watched crime shows on television?

Vince – What we did, we shot our very first interview was in my living room, me and him [“Over sizzle reel,” David interjects] over skype. I’m drinking a beer, and we just dropping f-bombs just being ourselves [“Two minutes,” David adds]. From that, we ended up in my living room again and we shot a sizzle reel. From the sizzle reel, they shopped it around, and TV One just jumped on this thing. TV One was like you guys have the personality, you have the authenticity. We have always just been genuine, and humble.”

David – TV One allowed us to be us. That was so important. There were other people and producers all over the country that wanted in on Vince and Quinn, but they wanted us to be some other cookie cutter cop show. If I couldn’t do what I do and split some verbs and be me 100%; its got to be authentic. This is what really happened, and who we are. He [Vince] is very analytical and a smart brother. I’m a street dude. I was on the police department two years after High School. At 20 years old I got a badge and a gun. I’m 55 this year, this is all I have known. Then you have Vin, very smart (not a nerd) with street cred where he can get people to talk. TV One saw our dynamic and it was great.

That authenticity in these two men personalities and in the cases show up on camera and in the show with the two actors that portrays Quinn and Velazquez in the reenactments. In fact, Quinn and Velazquez made sure the two guys understood who they are, how they move, and how they solved crimes and homicides over the 15 years they were on the force. Simply, ATL Homicide keeps it all the way real.

The second season of ATL Homicide is scheduled to premiere in June 2019, and I for one can’t wait to see season 2 and try to solve the murders.