The Unusuals is a comedy-drama television series that aired on ABC from April 8 to June 17, 2009 in the U.S. and Global in Canada. The pilot and first episode were written by Noah Hawley, a former writer and producer for Fox's Bones. An ABC press release described The Unusuals as "like a modern-day M*A*S*H" that "explores both the grounded drama and comic insanity of the world of New York City police detectives, where every cop has a secret". Its premise elaborated:

Detective Casey Shraeger (Amber Tamblyn) has just been transferred to the NYPD's Homicide unit from Vice and is instantly thrown into a setting of bullets and bodies. As she begins her new assignment, Casey finds that the squad is full of secrets, which serves her well, since she's keeping a few of her own.