Police Chief Lou Diamond Philips

Mayor Tom Barrett is making progress on the search for a replacement for Nan Hegerty. It's Lou Diamond Philips.

His fantasy police chief for Milwaukee is Lou Diamond Philips.

MILWAUKEE -- NBC is shooting a pilot for a new drama called “The Watch” in Milwaukee. Actor Lou Diamond Philips was here shooting a scene near the Calatrava Monday.

He plays Milwaukee’s Police Chief, something Mayor Tom Barrett had fun with.

"Today I'm pleased to announce our new police chief, Lou Diamond Philips," Mayor Barrett joked.

“The streets will be safe,” Philips assured the mayor in return.

The producers decided to use Milwaukee as the setting for their show because of new incentives for TV and movies to shoot here.

“We’re going to be seeing a lot of your downtown beauty, and be a part of that,” Philips said.

The director of the show, Charles McDougall won an Emmy for directing the pilot to “Desperate Housewives.” There's no decision on whether NBC will pick up the show.

"The Watch," is a show about a neighborhood watch group that takes matters into its own hands in the fictional Milwaukee suburb of Ridgeview.

It would be great for Milwaukee to serve as the setting for a new TV drama, something to dull the memory of Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley.

I don't really understand the premise of the show.

Does this neighborhood watch group venture into the city to take "matters into its own hands" and become crime fighters within the city limits?

Does the group battle Milwaukee bad guys descending on their suburb of Ridgeview?

What does a neighborhood watch group in a suburb have to do with Milwaukee and its police chief?

Who knows?

I think it's kind of funny that Barrett showed up to greet Philips and the crew, the fictional crime fighters.

"We don't solve crime in Milwaukee. We just pretend to on TV."

Actually, it was appropriate for Barrett to be on hand, given the push to entice TV and movie productions to come the city.

I think Philips was very gracious to comment on the beauty of downtown Milwaukee. That was very nice.

Producers have plenty of lovely backdrops for the action, like the Calatrava and Lake Michigan.

Milwaukee also has plenty of rotting neighborhoods that would make good crime scenes for the drama. Fiction would meet reality.

The challenge would be to dodge the real bullets from real shootings as the shooting of the drama proceeds.