Lori Loughlin says '2 words' convinced her to take on a wildly different role as a hardened police officer in 'On Call'

On Call, the gritty new half-hour drama that follows police officers on patrol in Long Beach, Calif., is very different from other cop shows. For starters, Lori Loughlin is in it.

As the station’s battle-hardened leader, we rarely see her character, Lt. Bishop, crack a smile — a sharp contrast from her most famous role as the lovable Aunt Becky on Full House. It’s also her first starring TV role since her involvement in the college admissions scandal, which resulted in her spending two months in prison.

Loughlin told Yahoo Entertainment that she needed to hear only "two words: Dick Wolf,” to say “I’m in!” for the project, which starts streaming Jan. 9 on Prime Video. The series is the latest from the mega-producer, who is also responsible for the powerhouse Law & Order and FBI franchises.

“I was so flattered to be offered a role that’s so different from the other roles I’ve played,” Loughlin said. “To play that strong woman, who is so driven — wearing a uniform, hair back, brown hair, dark hair, no makeup — it was really refreshing.”

Eriq La Salle, who also stars and directs a few episodes of On Call, pushed Loughlin to find the “tougher side” of her character.

“He was there to help me develop Bishop and pushed me to find the stronger, stoic, tougher side of her,” Loughlin said.

Troian Bellasario and Brandon Larracuente in "On Call." (Amazon MGM Studios)

She wasn’t the only actress playing against type in the series. Troian Bellasario stars as Traci Harmon, a training officer dealing with grief as she takes on a new trainee played by Brandon Larracuente.

Bellasario is best known for playing a high schooler investigating the disappearance of her friend in Pretty Little Liars. Playing Harmon is “wildly different,” Bellasario told Yahoo Entertainment.

“[On Pretty Little Liars], I was in my early 20s playing a high schooler … It was amazing to get this role that was actually a bit older than me,” the 39-year-old said. “Traci has been on the job for 12 years, she’s in a position of authority, and she’s worked hard to get here. She’s a mentor. There were so many elements of her I was super excited to play.”

Troian Bellasario in On Call. (Amazon MGM Studios)

Larracuente said his wife grew up watching Pretty Little Liars, and when she watched On Call, she couldn’t believe both of Bellasario’s characters were played by the same person.

“It’s all a testament to her hard work and research,” he added. “She’s a total badass.”

On Call is not just a departure from typical roles for its stars. It’s also an outlier for the police procedural genre altogether.

Much of the footage in the show comes from bodycams and dashcams — just as it would for real-life officers. Actor and director La Salle told Yahoo Entertainment that it has “more of a documentary style.”

Brandon Larracuente in On Call. (Amazon MGM Studios)

“We all did ride-alongs with actual police officers … to be the ‘fly on the wall,’ and learn this is what it’s like to be in a car for eight hours — sometimes longer for cops who do double shifts — not knowing what kind of call you’re going to get,” he said. “We did literally all of these things, and some of them could turn tragic.”

Tim Walsh co-created the show with Dick Wolf’s son, Elliot Wolf. He said they did “dozens” of ride-alongs. Actors, directors and some producers did them as well.

“I don’t think you should be able to write a police officer or play a police officer if you don’t know what they go through,” Walsh told Yahoo Entertainment. “You have to understand what you’re getting involved in, what you’re doing, what the world is that you occupy. You can’t make that up.”

According to Walsh, the series isn’t even technically a “procedural,” which is the format most cop shows take.

“We don’t open with a crime then solve it by the end of the episode,” he said. “We have no formula. We just want to capture a day in the life of someone with boots on the ground, with police officers in and out of patrol cars.”

“We never go home with them. That’s unique as well,” he added.

Bellasario said the show is more about spending time with the show’s characters — seeing them at work and in the community — than anything else.

“It puts you right in the seat with us. Wherever we’re driving, you’re with us,” she said. “It’s one of those shows where you have to sit forward and not back.”

All eight episodes of On Call start streaming on Prime Video Jan. 9.