Lori Loughlin’s career is filled with playing very sweet and understanding characters from “Full House” to “When Calls the Heart.” It has taken decades of working but Loughlin finally is getting to play a role in the new Prime Video series “On Call” that is very different from her past work. She plays Lieutenant Bishop, a battle-tested leader of the Long Beach Police Department's West Division. Her job is to be a mentor for her officers while dealing with all the political madness that comes with the job. Taking such a dramatic change of direction in her acting career was not a matter of Loughlin searching out that kind of role to play. It was the co-creators and executive producers Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf who approached Loughlin. “I was really lucky to get the offer to play Bishop and was so grateful that Dick Wolf and company would even envision me in this role,” Loughlin says. Loughlin’s very different acting role can be seen starting Jan. 9 when all eight episodes in the first season of the police drama will be available on the streaming service. It isn’t easy going from playing kind-hearted characters to one who has battle weary. Loughlin admits that she found herself a little timid on her first day of filming and it took a minute to find the new footing. “I had to tap into that part of me that is unapologetic. That is direct. That is strong and no nonsense,” Loughlin says. “The first couple of scenes I was dipping my toe in the water and Eric said ‘You got it. Now get in the pool.’” “On Call” follows Officer Traci Harmon (Troian Bellisario) and her ambitious rookie, Alex Diaz (Brandon Larracuente), as they patrol the streets of Long Beach. Their story is told through hand-held, bodycam and dash-cam footage to put the viewer in the squad car with them. It is an up-close look at the moral complexities for those who choose to protect and serve their community. Eriq La Salle, who plays Sergeant Lasman, a 21-year veteran of the Long Beach Police Department who clashes with Harmon over a past dispute and the training being imparted on Diaz. La Salle comes to the project – as an actor, producer and director – was instrumental in Loughlin becoming part of the cast. Loughlin found the courage and confidence to play Bishop because of the directions by La Salle. He says Loughlin went all the way to the deep end of the ocean with her performance. “On Call” is a familiar format for La Salle having worked on ensemble dramas such as “ER” and “Chicago, P.D.” over the years. He knows from experience that while the action part of “On Call” is a big part of the series, it will be the interaction of the officers that will be the heart and soul of the production. “That was the goal of the writers,” La Salle says. “It was part of my job as a director is to lean into that more to make sure that everyone is on board with that, from the actors to the crew. “That is the thing we are most proud of.” One major difference between the past dramas La Salle has done and “On Call” is that the Prime series has a running time in the neighborhood of 30 minutes rather than the more traditional one-hour format. That makes “On Call” more like past police dramas such as “Adam 12” and “Dragnet” where stories were told in the tighter format. Walsh says that the writers were told to think of “’Adam 12’ on meth’” when creating scripts. La Salle has found that the 30-minute package has ramped up the intensity of each episode. “I think the thing I am most proud of is that we pack so much in a 30-minute show that in a good way it feels like it is longer. At the end of the show you are like ‘That was only 30 minutes.’ We just covered four different storylines,” La Salle says. “I am really happy that you can make a half-hour drama. “You can really pack a satisfying punch. I would much rather see something like this than an hour-long show that drags on.” Elliot Wolf explains the decision to make the series in 30-minute episodes came from recognizing the world now embraces products presented in shorter packages. They coupled that with looking at how popular programming such as “Adam 12” and “Dragnet” had been to decide on keeping their new series very tight. Wolf adds that once the format had been set, the challenge was to make it different from shows of the past. That was accomplished with the unique style of filming and the very original casting approach such as what they did with Loughlin.