Pretty Hard Cases, a CBC original series, is a super crime comedy-drama revolving around two female detectives, Samantha Wazowski and Kelly Duff, who join forces to investigate the biggest criminal gangs and weapon dealers in the city. Along the way, their friendship deepens, and both try to go to any length to save each other from any kind of trouble. The first season of Pretty Hard Cases aired in 2021 and was renewed for a second season, both of which saw the flourishing friendship of Kelly and Samantha, aka Sam. Not only that, but we get to know about their personal lives, which spices up the story. Since we know the series is going to return to screens for another season, let’s find out what exactly happened in the previous seasons of Pretty Hard Cases.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happened In Season 1?
Pretty Hard Cases kicked off with Samantha, aka Sam, on an operation to bust a weapons and drug dealing gang called Stockwood. She was a detective working under the Guns and Gangs department. As she went after the dealers, she met Kelly, who was also a detective working on the same case. Kelly and Sam had very different personalities. While Kelly was the brave and confident one, Sam was a bit skittish and socially awkward. She remained confused most of the time about making any decisions, which created major personal differences between her and Kelly. They dealt with the Stockwood gang and found the Bowen brothers, who were the head of the gang. Meanwhile, a lead emerged named Jackie Sullivan, who had been forced into the gang to carry on their illegal activities. Although Sam and Kelly were after the Bowen brothers, it was Jackie’s mother, Tiggy, who was the gang leader and a drug smuggler. Her sister Layna also came back to the city, and together they hatched their plan to take over the Stockwood gang. Throughout the first season, we saw Kelly and Sam go undercover to investigate the Bowen brothers, but things went wrong when Kelly was kidnapped by the drug dealers. Sam and Kelly were still far from being friends, but Sam decided to save her investigative partner by any means necessary. She tracked down Kelly and managed to rescue her.
Kelly and Sam had some conflicting relationships in their lives. Kelly was reconsidering her relationship with Jeff Keegan, a suspended police officer, while Sam, who remained frustrated and worried about her 17-year-old son Elliot, started meeting new people. However, Sam was still not satisfied with the people with whom she connected virtually. In their department, Kelly falls for Nathan, a fellow cop, while Kelly’s assistants Naz and Sam have chemistry from the start.
Tiggy used her daughter Jackie as an informant to dig up intel about the investigation Sam and Kelly were on. However, in that pursuit, Jackie and Elliott came closer to each other and formed a relationship. However, Jackie confessed her initial motives behind getting along with Elliot, and it created some serious trust issues between the couple. However, they reconciled. Their relationship faced several challenges, and after a whole lot of drama, they got back together only to drift apart. Sam and her son Elliot’s relationship was tumultuous, but she still had strong faith in her son. She tried to be there for her son whenever he needed her, even though she was in the middle of an operation. In one of their operations, to bust some drug dealers at school, Elliot was However, Sam was heartbroken when she found out that her son was also involved in drug dealing, so she decided to send him away.
Kelly and Keegan’s relationship faced some serious troubles when Kelly came to know the truth about Keegan, who had beaten up a minor during their operation involving a drug bust. Kelly could have forgiven him, but Keegan lied to her the entire time, denying that he had assaulted a kid. It seemed like Kelly and Keegan were never going to go back to their old friendship, as neither of them could trust each other.
Tiggy and Layna had a troubling relationship after Tiggy came to know that her sister was secretly sleeping with Randy Bowen. However, Tiggy didn’t have to worry about Randy anymore, as he was later killed by Buffalo mafia boss Bill Misiano, who ended up being the most dangerous antagonist of the show. Tiggy became a business partner of Misiano, while Layna was arrested by the detectives. Interrogating Layna, a lot of intel on Misiano and Tiggy’s drug operation came out, causing the detectives to chase them. Finally, by the end of the series, we saw that Tiggy was also arrested by Kelly and Sam. But after bringing her into custody, Tiggy’s defense attorney turned out to be Sam’s former husband, who made a deal with Sam that, with the help of Tiggy, Sam, and Kelly, they could get a hold of Misiano. Still, in return, they would have to lower the punishment for Tiggy.
By the end of the series, a lot of drama had surfaced. Nathan was promoted to detective sergeant, but he and Kelly couldn’t work out, as Nathan was still seeing other people at the time. The two heartbroken detectives finally kept their drama aside and focused on finding Misiano. However, even though they managed to capture him, he slipped away, taking Elliot hostage. He threatened to kill Elliot, but the detectives finally managed to get a hold of him. Sam managed to save his son, and it seemed they had almost reconciled, thinking that his son would never involve himself in any kind of illegal activity, but she was wrong. At the end of the series, we saw him opening his bag filled with Molly. Probably, he was still involved in the drug dealing gang, and now it was creating a compulsion for him. At the end of season 1, we saw Kelly and Sam united as best friends in the Guns and Gangs department. Kelly’s relationship with Nathan went downhill, while Naz finally plucked up the courage to ask Sam out on a date.
What Happened In Season 2?
Pretty Hard Cases season 2 answered a lot of questions. Sam and Kelly are now best friends, working in the same department with Nathan as their supervisor. Kelly and Nathan couldn’t be together since Nathan was seeing Gabrielle, but deep inside his heart, he was not happy with his girlfriend and kept on thinking about Kelly. Meanwhile, Naz and Sam got closer, but they couldn’t even make out once due to constant interruptions. Even though they managed to get some time for themselves and got intimate, Sam’s mother walked in and said that she was going to be staying for a few months.
Kelly and Sam were working in the Marshall Court neighborhood, where gunfire had been heard several times. Initially, upon checking the neighborhood, Kelly and Sam thought it was the kids who were burning firecrackers. But it was more than what it seemed like. Kelly and Sam went undercover for their next mission, to catch a drug dealer, who turned out to work as cabin crew. As the detectives arrested her, she spilled out the truth, saying that she was the daughter of Deputy Mayor Briggs.
Meanwhile, Kelly and Nathan talked about each other’s feelings, and Nathan told Kelly that he was going to leave Gabrielle to pursue a relationship with her. Kelly was elated, but on that exact night, she had to take Gabrielle with her to the neighborhood of Marshall Court to check on the gunfire. While Gabrielle was talking to Kelly, saying that she had never seen a guy as nice as Nathan, she was shot by someone. Kelly sent her to the hospital immediately, and thankfully Gabrielle survived. The investigation started to identify the shooter, but during the investigation, when Kelly and Sam managed to get several leads, Kelly met with her former lover Len, who was working on the same case. Len interfered in Kelly’s job several times, acting like a red flag, but Kelly seemingly was not yet over him. Despite Sam asking Kelly to reconsider, she went for giving Len a second chance. Len and Kelly became closer, and Len even proposed to her with a ring. However, Kelly soon realized her needs and ended things with Len.
Finally, after a lot of undercover operations, the detectives managed to gain intel about the drug-dealing gang Coyote, who were the ones shooting and terrorizing Marshall Court. They were also abusing teenagers into picking up drugs and delivering them for them. In the meantime, we saw Elliot, who went to Florida with his father, come back to the city, and reunite with Jackie. Sam didn’t like Jackie’s presence in her house, causing Jackie to move elsewhere so that Elliot could get back his mother’s love. Elliot, with the help of his father, confessed to having Molly pills. Elliot’s confession and statement about those guys he had dealt with helped the detectives get other leads who were connected with the coyotes.
Another lead, named Jorka Farcos, emerged. She was a psychic who capitalized on people’s blind faith in her. She was also included in the drug cartel. However, even though she was pretty dumb, her daughter wasn’t. Her daughter, Adeline, was aiming to take over the entire gang. She befriended Sam’s mom and even captured her. Sam, however, managed to save her mother, and the detectives arrested Adeline. Nevertheless, Adeline was so smart, with some extremely good theatrical abilities, that she faked having an asthma attack after having some peanuts and managed to elude Naz.
Naz and Sam’s relationship has gone downhill since Sam made out with her ex-husband. But mentally, she was in love with Naz, and not to keep him in the dark anymore, she confessed that she had slept with her ex. It shattered Naz’s heart; he could no longer put his trust in Sam. Kelly and Keegan were apart long ago, but Keegan was still not a reliable guy. He was hired by Deputy Mayor Briggs for security purposes at her new airport. She even hired DS Michaels, who was a fellow detective of Kelly and Sam. Nathan, Kelly, and Sam could assume well that their department had a snitch, who turned out to be Michaels, who was working for Briggs.
Richie, a teenager from the neighborhood, was wrongfully arrested for being in possession of the gun that was used to shoot Gabrielle. Kelly knew that Richie was framed, so she asked him to help her in the operation to find the real culprit behind all this. Initially hesitant, Richie agreed to help and arrived at the airport, where the gang leader was supposed to meet the Mexican dealer for whom they used to work. Richie found out that it was Deputy Mayor Briggs who was the head behind the drug operation. Kelly and Sam asked one of their officials, B. Chattopadhyay, to go undercover. Chattopadhyay went undercover as a rich heiress, who met and greeted Briggs at the airport. Briggs was inaugurating the airport, where she was about to welcome the Mexican drug cartel and have a deal with him. Chattopadhyay watched over their entire operation and grabbed an opportunity to call Sam to take the lead. However, when Jeff Keegan found Richie and his friend spying on them, he alerted the Mexican gang leader, who ran away from there. Kelly and Sam’s operation didn’t go successfully, but at the end of the second season, we saw Adeline meet the Mexican gang leader and take him out. Probably in the upcoming season, Adeline will remain a threat to Kelly and Sam.
In the concluding moments of the second season, we saw Kelly and Nathan sort things out between them. Kelly was initially a little bit jealous of her two sisters, both of whom were having babies. Kelly wanted her own, and she was getting tired of waiting. Nathan couldn’t wait as well, so he finally decided to pursue a relationship with Kelly. Meanwhile, Sam and Naz couldn’t figure out how to solve the trust issues between them, leaving both of them with broken hearts. Sam decided to resign from the department and went back to her home. We still don’t know if she left her department, but she told Kelly that she would. However, Kelly said that if her partner wasn’t in the department, she would quit it too.
In season 2, Kelly and Sam’s friendship faced several challenges. They both looked out for each other, but in that pursuit, they had hurt each other’s feelings. However, by the end of the season, we saw that at least they had each other back. Even though Kelly had some really good news to give to Sam, she didn’t feel like sharing it. Instead, she gave her friend some comfort and a shoulder to cry on. We hope to get more of Kelly and Sam bonding in the upcoming season.
