James Gandolfini is heading back to HBO with a new series, "Criminal Justice," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Gandolfini will star in the New York-set crime drama, based on Peter Moffat's 2008 BBC series of the same name. Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List") and Richard Price ("The Color of Money") are adapting the series for HBO, which has given "Criminal Justice" a pilot order, THR reports.
The original series followed a person on trial for murder, with each of its two five-episode seasons starring a new cast. HBO's adaptation will revolve around a guy who -- after a night of partying with a stranger -- wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.
Gandolfini will play Jack Stone, an attorney who picks up clients at police stations. He finds Naz, an American-born Pakistani, who will be played by Rizwan Ahmed in the pilot. Peyman Moadi and Poorna Jagannathan will star as Naz's parents, Salim and Safar Kahn, and Bill Camp will play Box.
In other casting news ...
Eddie Cibrian will heat up "Cleveland." Cibrian will play Joy’s (Jane Leeves) dream man, a firefighter who loves animals, in a pair of Season 4 episodes of "Hot in Cleveland." But, Cibrian's character is keeping a secret that might burst Joy's bubble. [TVLine]
An Oscar winner is heading to "Homeland." F. Murray Abraham will appear later in Season 2 as Dar Adul, “a brilliant intelligence operative [who has] worked all over the world for the Special Activities Division of the CIA.” [Entertainment Weekly]
Two new stars are venturing "East." On Lifetime's "Witches of East End," Rachel Boston will play Ingrid Beauchamp, a "cautious, quirky, smart and unaware" young woman who doesn't know she's beautiful, One Direction-style. She also doesn't know that she and her sister Freya (Jenna Dewan) are witches. Daniel Ditomasso has also been cast as Killian Gardiner, Freya’s future brother-in-law, who has feeling for her. [TVLine]
A "Mad Men" alum joins a medical drama. Charlie Hofheimer, who plays Abe Drexler on the series, will recur on ABC's "Private Practice" as a father whose daughter goes missing from the hospital. [Deadline]
Meshach Taylor is helping out "Criminal Minds." Taylor, who played "Designing Women's" lovable ex-con Anthony Bouvier, will play a homeless war vet who helps the team identify a killer on the CBS drama. [TV Guide]
