Have mercy — there’s a new sheriff in town.
Lori Loughlin has made her mark in the acting world, first stealing America’s hearts as the lovable and witty Aunt Becky on “Full House” from 1988 to 1995. The 60-year-old played Uncle Jesse’s (John Stamos) love interest alongside a star-studded cast, including the late Bob Saget, Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin and twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
After leaving her “Full House” family, Loughlin stayed in the sitcom world, starring in the ABC comedy “Hudson Street” opposite Tony Danza from 1995 to 1996.
Racking up dozens of acting credits in the years since, the “Meet My Mom” star proved she can genre-hop in a heartbeat, also playing California mom Debbie Wilson on “90210” and widow Abigail Stanton in Hallmark’s “When Calls the Heart.”
While she’s no stranger to a little detective work, having starred in the “Garage Sale Mysteries” collection from 2013 to 2019, Loughlin has never quite done something like her current role.
The star is portraying Lieutenant Bishop in the new Prime Video cop drama “On Call” — a far cry from the ’90s wife and mother she rose to stardom playing. Her partner in crime, Eriq La Salle (Sergeant Lasman), was also more than impressed with Loughlin.
“First of all, I was so flattered and honored to be offered the role because it is so different for me,” she exclusively told The Post. “Eriq and I worked together a long time ago. We had a wonderful time together but he really was one of the people that was pushing for me to get this role, which I so appreciate.”
Loughlin elaborated, “It’s always nice when other actors and directors can see you in roles that you don’t normally play.”
The Hollywood starlet said she was “honored to play Bishop.”
“I think she’s strong, she’s stoic,” continued Loughlin. “It’s funny, the first time I saw a rough cut, I came on-screen and I didn’t even recognize myself. It took me a moment to say, ‘Oh, that’s me.’”
Something La Salle, who is acting, directing and executive producing the show, was aiming for.
“That’s what we wanted,” he chimed in before Loughlin added, “It’s been really so special to play such a different role.”
La Salle knew he wanted the “Fuller House” actress to play something outside the norm of the character she has in the past — and it paid off.
“Sometimes, when you have a lot of decisions to make, it’s great when those decisions are validated,” he mused. “And when she first came on-screen, it is. I had a feeling; I was like, no one has really seen her do this kind of thing.”
La Salle added, “Her general vibe is she’s sweet, she’s cool, but I was like, it would be really cool to have this edgy thing.”
And when the “ER” alum saw Loughlin in action, any trace of everyone’s favorite aunt was long gone.
“I remember when my assistant read the script, and I told her, and I came home, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, she’s killing it,’ and my assistant just said, ‘That ain’t Aunt Becky no more!’”
“On Call” follows a rookie (Brandon Larracuente) and a veteran officer (Troian Bellisario) duo as they patrol in Long Beach, Calif.
While the series already has big Hollywood names, Loughlin shared who she’d love to bring into the cop genre.
“We were just talking about James Tupper and how much we adore him,” the mom of two gushed. “I’ve worked with James, Eric just finished working with James.”
La Salle agreed, adding, “I’m finding a lot of new actors.”
“I just want to work with actors that are not jaded, that are passionate about what they do,” he reiterated. “They love coming, and they love having fun on set. I love creating a safe space where people can bring ideas and they can be respected.”
He added, “Not so much of a specific individual, but it’s a type.”
However, in this evolving industry, the veteran actors said accepting a role now has a different meaning.
“I can say for me, I’m always so happy to just get the phone call and be offered the job,” Loughlin shared. “I think that’s just the actor mentality. So often, I’m like, well, I was just blessed to get a phone call and get an offer.”
La Salle applies the same mentality.
“I love taking chances on actors because I love when someone takes a chance on me,” he explained. “I think it’s easy to be typecast. It’s easy for people to be lazy. You might be able to hit 20 notes, but we just want you to hit these three, and so the challenge is that you’re going to get the best out of them when you say, ‘Hey, I know you can hit 30 notes, I’m going to be demanding 32.”
La Salle realized that this method brings out the actor’s best, creating a better project.
“I like putting actors that I respect in situations where they get to do different things because I know it’s always going to get the best result,” he said.
“That’s how I choose and that’s how I also like to cast.”
All eight episodes of “On Call” will be available to stream on Prime Video on Jan. 9.
