The "Bro" syndrome just ain't working - NCIS:LA

I have a tendency to notice all sort of weird things and analyze them and NCIS:LA is without  a doubt the show which provides me with most material. And today's topic is dedicated to their very own "Bro syndrome".

It has struck me that every single promotional poster for the series features Callen and Sam. Every single one and I have seen at least 5 different ones and I might add that for some reason Callen and Sam are always either smirking or looking dramatically into the distance (which is so not their style!). The show has five other awesome characters and why have they not been featured? Why isn't there a promo poster featuring the female characters? And the intro to the show has almost only montage of the two of them.for the most part. That is especially obvious in the intro to season 1. They only had a single screenshot of the other one's at the very end. Whether the viewer liked it or not, NCIS:LA was meant to be a "bro" show.

For much of first season, the show was a "bro" cop comedy show, dedicated to the relationship between Sam and Callen. They were at the forefront of every single episode and everything revolved around them. This focus on only the two of them was not only tiring but felt very dry and boring. I enjoy these two characters a lot but I have a very limited patience towards those kind of shows, the type where the focus is only on the males and their humorous, "bro" relationship. It feels vapid and unrealistic and way too male-focused, nothing but testosterone and masculine humor. It made the show that much thinner and tedious to watch and contributed to very weak characterization with the other characters (Kensi, Eric, Hetty to name a few). I genuinely enjoy Sam and Callen as characters but there is only so much of them I can handle. And the two of them together, an entire show dedicated to them was just way too much. It seems that NCIS:LA was aiming to please the male viewers with a hyped-up, steroid, masculine kind of cop-show set in sunny LA. If the show would have continued down that road it would not have lasted.

I genuinely enjoy Sam and Callen as characters and they are a lovely 'pair'. But on a show which features such a strong and vivid array of characters, having the focus only of them limited what the show was capable of achieving as a series and having people respond to it.  Now the focus is much broader and it is great. I enjoy seeing the rest of the characters develop and how they interact. And when the focus is on Callen and Sam, it is genuinely interesting and wonderful to watch. NCIS:LA still functions on a large dose of steroids but the testosterone has lessened and it has made the show that much stronger.