TNT announced today that Jason Lee will be taking on the starring role in a new TNT pilot called Delta Blues. The new series is described as an offbeat drama about Dwight Hendricks, a Memphis police office who lives with his mother and moonlights as an Elvis impersonator.
Jason Lee is returning to the small screen after his four season stint as Earl Hickey in the NBC comedy My Name Is Earl, which was just canceled this past fall.
“Jason Lee is the ideal choice to bring the compelling, off-kilter Dwight Hendricks to life,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “With extraordinary talent in front of and behind the camera, along with an outstanding script, DELTA BLUES is shaping up to be a hugely entertaining show and a great fit with our lineup of original dramas.”
That talent that Michael Wright mentioned behind the camera includes Emmy nominee Clark Johnson (The Shield) and a script from Liz M. Garcia (Cold Case) and actor Joshua Harto (The Dark Knight). Delta Blues will also be executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov under their Smokehouse Pictures banner.
There's no doubt that Delta Blues is shaping up to be a fantastic sounding addition to TNT's other original programming lineup. No date has been set yet for the pilot to air, but it seems likely to be close to Summer 2010, when TNT has traditionally launched many of their original programs.
Source: TNT
