CHRISTUFUH! Imperioli Headlines One Of Three New ABC Dramas

I desperately miss Christopher Moltisanti from “The Sopranos.” He was oddly likeable despite being utterly repugnant, and his intervention remains that show’s comedic apex. It’s a unique kind of dirtbag that can pull off such things, and Michael Imperioli had him nailed.

Since then, Imperioli has appeared on “Law & Order” and on ABC’s short-lived remake of the UK’s “Life On Mars.” Now word comes that Imperioli will headline “Detroit 1-8-7,” one of three new dramas coming to ABC this fall. Lynette Rice over at Entertainment Weekly reports:

ABC just announced three more pickups for fall – and this time, it’s dramas! Generation Y is a documentary-style dramedy that tracks the life of former high schoolers; it stars Michael Stahl-David (Cloverfield) and Jaime King (Gary, Unmarried). Detroit 1-8-7 stars Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) and takes a light-hearted look at Detroit’s top homicide division, while The Whole Truth is a legal drama that shows the case of a week from both sides. It stars Rob Morrow (Numb3rs) and Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck).

I did NOT expect any look at Detroit’s homicide division to be light-hearted. But hey, that’s why you bring a guy like Imperioli in. He can take something very dark and violent and spin it into something bitterly comedic.

As for the other two shows, “Generation Y” sounds like a Pepsi ad. But ABC has had wild success using the phony documentary format in “Modern Family.” This’ll be their attempt to bring that format over into drama. The other show sounds like a standard procedural. But it’s Imperioli headlining a show that I find most promising. We’ll see come fall.

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