TNT is expanding its relationship with Ed Burns.
The actor, who co-stars in the cabler's upcoming drama Mob City, will write, star in and direct an untitled period drama for the network, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Set in New York City in 1967, the cop drama centers on the Public Morals Division, where cops walk the line between morality and criminality as the temptations that come from dealing with all kinds of vice can get the best of them. It centers on cop Terry Muldoon (Burns), who knows the line between the good and bad guys is thin but is determined to raise his sons to be honest and hardworking as he deals with the city's underbelly.
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The untitled entry hails from Amblin TV and TNT Original Productions, with Steven Spielberg and Burns exec producing alongside Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey and Aaron Lubin. It extends Amblin's relationship with the Turner-owned cable network, which is home to Noah Wyle starrer Falling Skies.
The drama hits close to home for the actor, whose father Edward J. Burns worked for the NYPD during the late 1960s. The pilot marks the first small-screen foray that the successful writer-actor has done for the small screen. He previously co-created The Fighting Fitzgeralds for NBC with his brother, Brian. He also wrote, directed, produced and starred in Fox Searchlight's 1995 family drama The Brothers McMullen.
The untitled Burns pilot joins an untitled action/adventure drama that hails from The Bourne Identity's Blake Herron described as a mix between that movie and National Treasure at the network as the cabler continues its push for year-round original scripted programming.
In addition to the return of Falling Skies, TNT also has dramas Dallas, Franklin & Bash, Perception, Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes and freshman The Last Ship, Murder in the First and Legends set for 2014. The six-episode Mob City, from former The Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont, airs over three weeks in December on TNT.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
