Stream Andre Braugher essential shows, films

Andre Braugher’s career spanned over three decades and was filled with several notable roles across film and television. The actor, who died Monday at 61, became a household name after starring in “Homicide: Life on the Streets” as Det. Frank Pembleton. The series, based on a book by David Simon about the Baltimore Police Department’s homicide unit, ran from 1993 to 1999, earning him his first Emmy in 1998 for lead actor in a drama.

His second Emmy came in 2006 for his leading role in the FX thriller miniseries “Thief,” in which he played master criminal Nick Atwater. Speaking to the L.A. Times’s Greg Braxton in 2006, Braugher said the role “demanded more of my resources than anything has before. It’s not so much a crime drama as a character study of a man becoming authentic to himself.” Braugher also received an Emmy nomination for his performance as Dr. Ben Gideon in ABC’s “Gideon’s Crossing” in 2001, in the gap between the two series.

Unfortunately, none of those series are available to stream, leaving some of his most distinguished work unavailable for viewers to watch; however, several of his films and some of his more recent TV shows are available to watch online. Here is a list of some of his essential work that you can watch now.

‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’

Perhaps in one of his best-known roles in the last decade, Braugher starred as Ray Holt, a gay police captain leading a Brooklyn police precinct. “Braugher plays his part straight without actually being a straight man and grounds the wackiness,” L.A. Times television critic Robert Lloyd wrote in his review of the show. The actor’s deadpan delivery and relationship with his fellow police officers showcased his comedic abilities, and earned him four Emmy nominations for supporting actor in a comedy series. “I’m the string, they’re the kites,” Braugher told L.A. Times columnist Glenn Whipp in 2014 of his improv work with the show’s cast, which included Andy Samberg, Melissa Fumero, Stephanie Beatriz, Chelsea Peretti and Terry Crews. The series premiered on Fox in 2013, where it aired for five seasons before being canceled by the network, only for the show to be picked up by NBC for another three seasons. The eighth and final season aired in 2021. ( Watch on Peacock )

‘Men of a Certain Age’

This TNT series ran from 2009 to 2011, and starred Braugher, Ray Romano and Scott Bakula as three best friends dealing with midlife crises. Braugher played Owen, a car salesman who begrudgingly works for his father and is dealing with various health problems. The role was a change of pace for the actor, who said in 2009 that Romano and the production team “really took a chance on me — I was not their first choice.” It earned him two Emmy nominations, and the series won a Peabody Award in 2010. However, despite the show’s critical acclaim, it was canceled after just two seasons because of low ratings. ( Watch on Max )

‘The Good Fight’

A spinoff of “The Good Wife,” “The Good Fight” was the first original scripted series for the streaming platform CBS All Access, now Paramount+. Starring Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart, the legal drama ran for six seasons. Braugher joined the cast in the final season, playing Ri’Chard Lane, a partner in the newly formed Reddick, Ri’Chard & Associates. The season premiered in 2022, making it the last of his television work to air before his death. ( Watch on Paramount+ )

‘Glory’

In 1989, Braugher landed one of his first breakout roles, starring alongside Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick in “ Glory,” a Civil War film about the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first all-Black infantry regiment in the Union army. The screenplay was based on the books “Lay This Laurel” by Lincoln Kirstein and “One Gallant Rush” by Peter Burchard, and the film was directed by Edward Zwick. In his review of the film, L.A. Times critic Kevin Thomas called Braugher’s performance as Thomas Searles “one of the film’s primary strengths, as he tries desperately to meet the psychological as well as physical rigors of his predicament.” ( Watch on Pluto TV )

‘The Tuskegee Airmen’

This 1995 HBO television movie was among the first projects to spotlight the Tuskegee Airmen and the “Fighting 99th,” the first squadron of Black combat fighter pilots formed during World War II. The film starred many prominent Black actors, including Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Courtney Vance. Braugher plays Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the commander of the unit, who was a real-life war hero and the first Black general in the Air Force. The role earned Braugher his second Emmy nomination for best supporting actor in a miniseries or special. ( Watch on Max )

‘She Said’

Universal Picture’s “She Said” was the last film released before Braugher’s death. The actor portrayed Dean Baquet, the now-former executive editor of the New York Times (and former editor of the Los Angeles Times). Along with reporters Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) and Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and editor Rebecca Corbett (Patricia Clarkson), Baquet shepherds the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative stories about the powerful film producer Harvey Weinstein and his sexual harassment of actors and his employees over the years. In her review of the film, Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh wrote that he and Clarkson are “particularly fantastic as tough but supportive editors.” ( Watch on Prime Video )