‘Sons of Anarchy’ Alum to Star in CBS Drama Pilot

Jimmy Smits joined a new CBS police drama pilot, co-starring NCIS: New Orleans alum Amanda Warren. The former Sons of Anarchy actor will play a New York City police chief in East New York. Smits is a veteran of New York City-set police procedurals, as he played Detective Bobby Simone on NYPD Blue.

East New York was written by Michael Finkelstein and Mike Flynn and tells the story of Regina Haywood (Warren), a recently promoted deputy inspector in East New York, a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood. She oversees a group of officers and detectives, some of whom are not enthusiastic about Regina’s unconventional methods. Smits plays Chief John Suarez, whose commanding presence and strong moral center makes him perfect for serving the community, reports Deadline.

The In The Heights actor has a personal connection with the story, as he was born in Brooklyn and grew up in East New York. Smits also worked with Finkelstein and director Mike Robin on NYPD Blue together. Warner Bros. Television is producing the series. The executive producers are Finkelstein, Flynn, and Robin of Skyemac Productions, and Christine Holder and Mark Holder of Wonderstreet. Andrew Maher if Skyemac is a co-executive producer.

Smits won an Emmy in 1990 for his role as Victor Sifuentes on LA Law. In 1994, he joined NYPD Blue, starring in 90 episodes of the acclaimed police drama. He also starred as Matt Santos on The West Wing and Neron ‘Nero’ Padilla on Sons of Anarchy. His most recent TV character was Elijah Strait in the short-lived NBC series Bluff City Law. Next, Smits is expected to play Senator Bail Organa in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi, after playing the role in the second and third Star Wars prequels and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

As for Warren, she starred as Mayor Zahra Taylor in the recently-canceled NCIS: New Orleans. She also starred in Apple TV+’s Dickinson as Betty. Her other credits include Madam Secretary, The Purge, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Power, and The Leftovers.

CBS has several other drama pilots in the works this season. Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness, Bombshell) will play the lead in a reboot of the 1990s Kyle Chandler series early Edition. Eve will play a Seattle journalist who suddenly starts receiving newspapers with tomorrow’s headlines and has to decide between reporting the news and trying to change it. Charles Michael Davis (NCIS: New Orleans), Jay Ali (Magnum P.I.), and Fiona Rene (I Know What You Did Last Summer) will also star.