Milo Ventimiglia has been tapped to lead HBO Max’s police drama pilot “American Blue.”
Ventimiglia, who’s best known for his TV roles in “This Is Us” and “Gilmore Girls” will star in and co-executive produce the pilot from Jeremy Carver, which centers on an Illinois police force.
He will star as Brian “Milk” Milkovich, who returns to his hometown of Joliet, Ill., to rescue a beleaguered police force while seeking redemption of his own, per the official logline. Milk is described as “a quietly-determined, natural born leader, hoping to find a second chance in the place he left behind,” per HBO.
Additionally, David Ayer (“Suicide Squad,” “Fury”) has come on board to direct and executive produce the pilot, which will be written and executive produced by Carver under his overall deal with Warner Bros. TV.
Brian Udovich and Neil Reynolds are also attached as EPs, while Ventimiglia’s producing partner Russ Cundiff will serve as a producer.
“We are thrilled to have Milo and David join ‘American Blue,’” Warner Bros. TV president of creator affairs Clancy Collins White said. “Milo’s dynamic presence on-screen and David’s keen eye are a perfect match for the complex, character-driven drama that Jeremy created. We look forward to seeing this trio bring Milk’s journey to life.”
Ventimiglia’s casting comes just over two months after HBO Max ordered pilots for both “American Blue” as well as a family drama from Greg Berlanti and Bash Doran in an effort to emulate the success of “The Pitt” with longer episode orders, modest budgets and annual releases.
“’American Blue’ will take audiences inside a gritty and authentic police drama, reflecting the myriad challenges in policing today,” HBO Max original programming head Sarah Aubrey said. “As with ‘The Pitt,’ our goal of longer seasons will allow viewers to sink deeply into this world across multiple episodes and to return to it on an annual basis. We can’t wait for Jeremy Carver’s vision for ‘American Blue’ to come to life with Milo Ventimiglia in the lead role and David Ayer directing our pilot.”
Though the initial series order for “The Pitt” stirred up some skepticism, the medical drama proved to be a major success for the streamer, gaining both critical acclaim at the Emmys as well as ratings success, proving to HBO boss Casey Bloys that there’s still value in the traditional TV formula.
“‘The Pitt’ shows that you can also go back to the formula that was perfected over decades of doing more than 10 episodes … and setting up a show that can return on an annual basis, which was a really important part of television, being there for viewers and fans to spend time with the characters on a more regular basis,” Bloys told TheWrap after the Emmys wins in September.
