COP, GOOD COP

Two cops burst into a back street and give chase to the bad guy who just robbed a pharmacy. A director yells “Cut!” and they do it again and again for the cameras.

This is not a Hollywood soundstage; it’s an Exposition Park alley. All around Dallas, and especially in our neighborhood, streets and homes, restaurants and bars are becoming film sets. And our neighbors are getting into the act.

MattNix, creator of the television show “Burn Notice”, chose Dallas as the backdrop for his new Fox series, “The Good Guys”, which premieres June 7 at 8 p.m.

In an unusual move, Fox bought a 13-episode season of the action comedy without seeing a pilot. Since television revenues are declining, Nix is bringing the low-budget cable model to network television. Filming the show in Dallas — and making our city the setting — saves millions of dollars.

“We’re definitely cheaper than either coast,” says Janis Burklund, director of the Dallas Film Commission. “But we have D/FW airport, so you can get here within four hours from New York or L.A. We’re the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, and we’ve had the industry here for a long time.”

The film commission estimates that the show will, in its first season of filming, spend $16 million here on everything from catering and hotels to location rentals and talent.

The commission spent several months working up a case for why Nix should film the show in Dallas and set it here. The original pilot script was set in Los Angeles, but Burklund and her staff convinced Nix to set it in Dallas because it’s cheaper — the crew doesn’t have to worry about making it look like L.A.

“We can’t put a value on the marketing value of having Dallas basically as a character in the show,” Burklund says. “It’s definitely more than we would ever have the ability to purchase.”

Fair Park takes center stage in the show. It’s the location for the police headquarters where the main characters, Dan Stark and Jack Bailey played by Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks, respectively — check in with the boss, Ana Ruiz, who is played by Diana Maria Riva.

Lakewood businesses Times Ten Cellars, Faulkner Dry Cleaning, Corner Market and many others also have been tapped as locations.

“It was amazing how many people and how much equipment they sent for a segment that’s supposed to be about two minutes long,” says Rob

Wilson, co-owner of Times Ten. “We didn’t realize the number of people it takes to do something like that. But it worked out great.”

The crew showed up at 6 a.m. and