Since his unexpected exit from The Walking Dead last year, Frank Darabont has been developing a pilot for TNT tentatively titled L.A. Noir. Among the stars of the project, TWD's Jon Bernthal and Jeffrey DeMunn. Word has finally come in on the fate of the pilot and it's good news! TNT announced today that they've picked it up to series.
Based on the critically acclaimed book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City by John Buntin, the story chronicles the epic battle between Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker and mobster Mickey Cohen. Alissa Phillips (Moneyball) of Michael De Luca Productions serves as co-executive producer. Darabont wrote and directed the pilot. The show, which will air on TNT and Turner networks around the world, will be distributed by TBS International outside of the United States and Canada.
According to the network's announcement, they've given the drama a six episode order. They refer to it as an untitled project, so it sounds like they haven't settled on calling it L.A. Noir, officially anyway. The series will focus on the decades-long conflict between Police Chief William Parker at the L.A. Police Department, and former boxer/current crime leader Mickey Cohen. It sounds like old Hollywood glamour will set the scene, as the series takes place during the 40s and 50s in Los Angeles. Jon Bernthal (Shane from The Walking Dead) is on board to play Joe Teague, an ex-Marine who's now an LAPD cop. Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale from The Walking Dead) plays Detective Hal Morrison, "who heads up the LAPD's new mob squad, with Jeremy Strong (The Happening, Lincoln) as Det. Mike Hendry, Morrison's second in command."
Also among the cast are Neal McDonough, Milo Ventimiglia, Ron Rifkin, Pihla Viitala and Alexa Davalos. Simon Pegg is set to guest-star in the pilot as Hecky Nash, "a third-rate comedian and mob hanger-on." That should be funny and possibly some much needed comic relief in what sounds like a dark and dramatic plot. That is, until he gets himself whacked. That's just a guess, but it's a guest-starring role and I've seen enough mobster movies to know that sometimes the funny guy gets killed.
No word on when they plan on getting this project on the air, but hopefully that news will make the rounds soon enough, along with the official title.
