Smallscreen News

Memphis Beat sweet music to TNT, second season announced

By April MacIntyre Sep 16, 2010, 20:57 GMT

TNT is ordering a second season of Memphis beat.

The series stars Jason Lee and Alfre Woodard.

TNT has ordered 10 episodes for the second season of the series, which also stars DJ Qualls. The show is slated to return in 2011.  "Beat" premiered June 22 and quickly established itself as one of the summer’s hottest tickets.

The series comes to TNT from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and Warner Horizon Television.

"Memphis Beat is a real treasure: a slightly off-center crime drama with great actors, memorable characters and a soundtrack steeped in Memphis sounds,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM).  “We look forward to another fantastic season next year.”

Premise

Lee plays Dwight Hendricks, a quirky Memphis police detective with an intimate connection to the city, a passion for blues music and a close relationship with his mother.  Woodard plays Lt. Tanya Rice, a demanding boss determined to keep Dwight on a short leash.  Qualls co-stars 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.

Three-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Keb’ Mo’ (Honeydripper) provides the series' intoxicating, blues-laced soundtrack.  Robert Randolph & The Family Band perform the infectious title song (Music Video: http://www.tnt.tv/dramavision/?oid=61295).

The first season of MEMPHIS BEAT was executive-produced by Clooney, Heslov, Garcia, Harto, Scott Kaufer (Boston Legal) and John Fortenberry (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia).  Sean Whitesell (House M.D.) and Smokehouse Pictures’ Abby Wolf-Weiss are co-executive producers.

"Beat" is TNT’s fifth summer series to be renewed this year.  TNT previously announced renewals for the hit series The Closer (seventh season), Rizzoli & Isles (second season), Leverage (fourth season) and HawthoRNe (third season).