In addition to RIZZOLI & ISLES, TNT has ordered a ten episode season of DELTA BLUES.
DELTA BLUES, an offbeat series starring Jason Lee and Alfre Woodard, comes to TNT from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and Warner Horizon Television. The pilot for DELTA BLUES was directed by Emmy® nominee Clark Johnson (The Shield) from a script by Liz W. Garcia (Cold Case) and actor Joshua Harto (The Dark Knight). Clooney, Heslov and Garcia serve as executive producers. Henry Bronchtein (The Sopranos) and Smokehouse’s Abby Wolf-Weiss are co-executive producers, and Harto is a producer. In addition, Johnson served as executive-producer on the pilot.
“With a collection of unique characters brought to life by a stunning cast, DELTA BLUES is truly a one-of-a-kind series,” said Wright. “We’re very excited to be working with the outstanding producers at Smokehouse and Warner Horizon as we add DELTA BLUES to TNT’s slate.”
In DELTA BLUES, Lee plays Dwight Hendricks, a Memphis police officer who lives with his mother. His intimate connection with the city and its people sets him apart from his fellow officers. Woodard plays Lt. Tanya Rice, a demanding boss determined to keep Dwight on a short leash. Also starring in DELTA BLUES are Celia Weston (Junebug) as Dwight’s mother; Sam Hennings as Charlie White, aka Whitehead, his partner; Robyn Lively (Saving Grace) as Charlene, Dwight’s ex-wife; Leonard Earl Howze (Barbershop) as Reginald Greenback, a detective who works with Dwight and Whitehead; Abraham Benrubi (ER), a detective who uses Chickasaw tribal wisdom in his work; and DJ Qualls (My Name Is Earl) as Sutton, Dwight’s protégé.
I first made mention of this project over 1 & 1/2 years ago. It looking at those involved both in front of, and behind, the camera, it has a lot of promise.
