Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia is making his first appearance in a cable project. He has signed on for the TNT pilot L.A. Noir. The mid-century cops versus mobsters project comes from jilted Walking Dead writer, producer and director Frank Darabont, who sold it to TNT back in January.
L.A. Noir is a mob drama set in Los Angeles during the 1940s and 1950s and tells the true story of the battle between the LA police department and mobster Mickey Cohen and his cohorts. Deadline reports that Ventimiglia will play the role of former marine Ned Stax, who is now on the fast track to a high profile position as a lawyer for the mob. He’s connected with Joe Teague, another of the major roles in the pilot who was one of Stax’ marine buddies. Word is Jon Bernthal of The Walking Dead is being pursued for the role of Teague, but hasn’t been confirmed yet. Ventimiglia was much in demand this season, with offers to take on broadcast pilots, so he must have seen something interesting in this project.
This is a fascinating era in the history of Los Angeles, and if it can be done well this project has a lot of potential. It promises high drama, gorgeous costumes and of course, the glamour of the mob set against the rule of law, always a good combination. It may just be my personal taste coming through, but with good casting –and so far it looks good – this one looks like a winner, and real competitor for the character-driven drama of Mad Men, set not long after this new project. I’m hopeful we’ll see this go to series.
