“Public Morals” Ed Burns cop drama lands pilot order at TNT

PanARMENIAN.Net - 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 Public Morals, a period drama for the network, The Hollywood Reporter said.

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 guys and the bad guys is thin but is determined to raise his sons to be honest and hardworking.

Public Morals 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 also is home to the 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 successful writer-actor 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 Burns pilot joins an untitled action/adventure drama that hails from The Bourne Identity's Blake Herron and is described as a mix of that movie and National Treasure 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 freshmen The Last Ship, Murder in the First and Legends set for 2014. The six-episode Mob City, from former Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont, airs over three weeks in December on TNT.