Troian Bellisario is sitting at her desk, laughing about her “invisible boyfriend.” She’s referring to her latest project, On Call, a police drama with more grit and nerve than your typical cop procedural. “For a while, it felt like I was telling my friends, ‘Oh, he goes to a different school, but you’d love him!’” she jokes.
The new Prime Video series dives into the layered lives of first responders in Long Beach, California, told through the eye-popping perspective of body cams, dash cams, and cell phones. It’s raw, intense, and hard to look away from—a fitting evolution for an actress who’s already made her mark on Pretty Little Liars. But while Bellisario’s fictional life is chaotic, her real one might be even busier.
“I’ve mostly been a mom this year,” she says. That’s a full-time gig when your husband, Suits actor Patrick J. Adams, is constantly working out of town, leaving Troian to manage the household, two kids, a dog, and the occasional press tour. “This year has been about finding balance, but it’s surreal now to talk about this show because it feels like I’ve been leading a double life.”
Double life indeed. On On Call, Bellisario plays Officer Traci Harmon, a rookie trying to navigate the moral complexities of modern policing. “It’s a wild experience because when you put on that uniform, people project so much onto you—fear, trust, expectation,” she explains. To prepare, she went on ride-alongs with real officers. “At one point, a woman started telling me her story like I could help. I was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m just a ride-along!’ But that was my first taste of what it means to embody that role in people’s eyes.”
The show’s format pulls no punches, with camera angles that mimic the chaos of real-life situations. Bellisario says the unique storytelling drew her in. “This isn’t about solving the case in 42 minutes. It’s about the humanity behind the badge, the struggles, the compromises, and the reality of a world where everything you do is recorded.”
Her on-screen dynamic with Eriq La Salle’s veteran officer creates another layer of tension. “It’s the battle for the soul of the Next Generation,” she says. “We’re training this young recruit, and we’re both pulling him in different directions. It’s not just a workplace drama; it’s a morality tale.”
Between takes, Bellisario channels her energy into writing, a passion she’s nurtured since her days on Pretty Little Liars. “My parents drilled into me that if you want control in this industry, you have to create your own opportunities,” she says. Her scripts often come from moments of stillness—or, in her case, moments when she’s trying to force herself to sit still. “I’m terrible at taking breaks. If I’m not working, I’m writing, and if I’m not writing, I’m thinking about the next thing.”
But that’s just who she is—a creator, a thinker, and someone who’s always ready for the next deep dive, whether it’s into a police uniform, a new script, or the chaos of family life. And if On Call is any indication, her invisible boyfriend is about to get very real for a whole lot of fans.
Watch the interview above and then check out the trailer below.
