Memphis Beat

JP Liz V1

http://www.tnt.tv/series/memphisbeat/

Memphis Beat centers on Dwight Hendricks (Jason Lee), a quirky Memphis police detective with an intimate connection to the city, a passion for blues music and a close relationship with his mother. He is "the keeper of Memphis," a Southern gentleman who is protective of his fellow citizens, reverential of the city's history and deeply rooted in its blues music scene.

Despite his impeccable instincts as a detective, Dwight's loose, relaxed style of police work rubs his demanding new boss, Lt. Tanya Rice (Woodard), the wrong way. But Dwight may eventually win her over to a Memphis state of mind, especially when he takes the stage at his favorite hangout to perform a legendary song or two.

MEMPHIS BEAT co-stars DJ Qualls as Davey Sutton, a uniform cop who considers himself to be Dwight's protégé. Also starring are Celia Weston (Junebug) as Dwight's effervescent mother; Sam Hennings (Saving Grace) as Charlie White, aka Whitehead, Dwight's seasoned, hypertensive partner; Leonard Earl Howze (Barbershop) as Reginald Greenback, a fellow detective struggling to make ends meet with two teenage daughters; and Abraham Benrubi (ER) as Sgt. JC Lightfoot, an officer who uses Chickasaw tribal wisdom in his police work.

MEMPHIS BEAT was created by Liz W. Garcia (Cold Case) and Joshua Harto (The Dark Knight), who also wrote the first two episodes. Harto, who grew up in the South and has spent a lot of time with his country-musician grandfather, sees the show's setting as a chance to spotlight one of America's great cities. "Memphis has been largely forgotten in film and TV today," he says. "It's where the blues and Johnny Cash and Elvis came from. It's where Martin Luther King was assassinated and where Isaac Hayes and Aretha Franklin were born and raised. It's the perfect blend of drama and humor for our show."

Music is just as vital to MEMPHIS BEAT as its unique characters, drama and humor is the music. "Music is a huge part of this show," Garcia says. "It has to be. You can't live in Memphis and not have your life steeped in music. The city has a soundtrack."

To get that perfect Memphis feel, the production team approached noted blues singer/songwriter Keb' Mo'. He will provide original compositions and performances for the show to supplement classic Memphis tracks.

MEMPHIS BEAT is executive-produced by Clooney, Heslov, Garcia, Harto, John Fortenberry (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Scott Kaufer (Boston Legal). Sean Whitesell (House M.D.) and Smokehouse Pictures' Abby Wolf-Weiss are co-executive producers. The pilot was directed and executive-produced by Emmy® nominee Clark Johnson (The Shield). Harto and Garcia are a husband-and-wife team. Harto is also an actor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ0qD64srJY

I'm looking forward to this having Jason Lee back on tv

Richard Dower

Might give the pilot a shot.

JP Liz V1

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Jason-Lee-Memphis-1019798.aspx

From playing a down-on-his-luck lottery winner in My Name is Earl to portraying a detective by day and Elvis showman by night in Memphis Beat, Jason Lee tells TVGuide.com how Beat made him return to television and how it compares to his previous acting gigs.

TVGuide.com: What about this series made you want to return to TV?
Jason Lee: I wasn't expecting it or planning on anything. I was just wondering what to do next after they canceled My Name is Earl. This came along and it was very different, unique and appealing to me. I'm very glad I did it because I'm getting to be in a completely different world. I like that this came in this stage in my life.

TVGuide.com: How do you feel Memphis compares to the comedy you were doing on My Name is Earl?
Lee: Earl was just downright fun and goofy. This show is definitely a lot more grounded in reality. We also get to play a little bit. It's a bit quirky, as they say, it is a bit offbeat, but it is important that it's grounded for us and the characters are real and believable. You can identify with the characters and they're accessible and likable. If you get too silly with something like this, especially with all the Elvis stuff, you start to lose the importance of the show and the depth of the characters, so we're trying to walk that line between offbeat and real.

TVGuide.com: But you do hope your old audience will follow you over here?
Lee: Yeah, absolutely. I hope so. I]Laughs[/I This isn't a boring show by any means.

TVGuide.com: Does it feel like a childhood fantasy come true getting to play a cop?
Lee: Yeah, that's a big part of it. I get to play a gun-toting cowboy. I]Laughs[/I There's the detective side of it, then the musician side, then the southern side, with Memphis being a character. It's different than being a detective in New York City. These guys feel pride for being southern and having their own style. It's really unique.

TVGuide.com: What kind of cases will we see that are unique to Memphis?
Lee: [His character]Dwight drives a '64 Pontiac GTO. He wears boots I]Laughs[/I. It's all about the emotion and intuition. There are some cases where people may be let off the hook because of his understanding of the people. It's not always by the book.

TVGuide.com: Do you think being about to relate to Dwight makes this series standout from other cop procedurals?
Lee: Yeah, the show is as much about the characters as it is the case of the week. You really become invested in this guy and his relationship with his ex-wife and his mother, and his burden of trying to fix Memphis all the time. He's not just a tough-guy arrogant cop; he's more vulnerable than that. At the end of the day, he's a charming, southern mama's boy.

Memphis Beat premieres Tuesday at 10/9c on TNT.

Richard Dower

Strong pilot numbers, but read the comments section...alot didn't like the show. I have a 720p for watching later tonight:

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/06/23/memphis-beat-hawthorne-continue-tnt%E2%80%99s-original-series-success-with-strong-tuesday-night-deliveries/55154

Richard Dower

http://www.tv.com/for-now-memphis-beat-is-just-another-cop-show/story/23254.html?tag=news_hub_stories;

Richard Dower

Ahem, sooo...that pilot eh?, um....sorry, but it sucked....being serious. Jason Lee never did anything for me in anything i've seen him in and my opinion will not be changed with this show. It's bland, generic and your run of the mill cop show.

The music is good, i'll give it that, not talking about the stupid parts where the cop/jason lee is actually signing, a singing detective/cop.....how (un) original.

Nothing seperates it from a hundread other cop shows, the story and characters were weak, as was the acting, Jason Lee could use losing a few pounds as you could see he was struggling during chase scenes.

It's just a bad show, surprised at TNT actually....i will not be watching another ep., i have much higher hopes for Rookie Blue tonight.

JP Liz V1

There is a great dynamic between Alfre Woodard and Jason Lee.

I love DJ Qualls and Abraham Benrubi's characters.

Is that really Lee singing btw?

No news on a pick up yet

Richard Dower

My "high hopes" for Rookie Blue didn't pan out...Grey's wannabe drivel...the latest ep. 8 was crap!

paddyismaddy

its hard for me to see lee as anyone but earl

Richard Dower

Memphis Beat is *rumoured* to be renewed soon, according to Variety:

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/09/01/tnts-memphis-beat-to-be-renewed-soon/61896

JP Liz V1

http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/09/01/memphis-beat-renewed-for-second-season/

TNT is renewing Memphis Beat for a second season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show, starring Jason Lee as a Tennessee detective, has been averaging a solid 4.5 million viewers through its first ten episodes.

Richard Dower

Now confirmed, second season: http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/09/16/memphis-beat-renewed-by-tnt-for-a-second-season/63795

Richard Dower

Season 2 kicked off tonight, don't watch it myelf.

Richard Dower

TNT has cancelled Memphis Beat: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/10/14/memphis-beat-canceled-by-tnt/107365/

Catching up on season 2 and really the shows does little for me. Lee is good, the cast are all fine and theres a nice dynamic and chemistry between characters but it's all so light weight. There was a lot of potential to craft a procedural drama with some wit and originality and Memphis Beat strives to do something different but just goes nowhere. The whole singing is just annoying, the way it's shoehorned into each episode is cringe-worthy and not helped by the woeful syncing and the fact that it sounds absolutely nothing like Lee. Watching episode 1 of the second season and it just seems like the show has ran out of ideas and is simply going through the motions.