Memphis Beat
| Memphis Beat | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre |
Crime Action Drama Comedy |
| Created by |
Joshua Harto Liz W. Garcia |
| Starring |
Jason Lee Alfre Woodard Sam Hennings DJ Qualls Celia Weston Leonard Earl Howze Abraham Benrubi |
| Opening theme | "Memphis Beat" by Keb' Mo' |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Joshua Harto Liz W. Garcia Clark Johnson George Clooney Grant Heslov |
| Location(s) | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Running time | 43 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Warner Horizon Television Smokehouse Productions |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | TNT |
| Original release | June 22, 2010 – August 16, 2011 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Memphis Beat is an American drama series that debuted on TNT on June 22, 2010 and ended on August 16, 2011. Memphis Beat was officially canceled on October 14, 2011.
The show follows Dwight Hendricks (Jason Lee), a police detective assigned to the General Assignment division of the MPD, who loves his mother, the blues, his city, and Elvis Presley and calls himself "the keeper of Memphis". His passionate devotion to his home town is offset by his relaxed approach to his job, an attitude that frustrates by-the-book Lt. Tanya Rice (Alfre Woodard), his new boss.
Jason Lee said he was drawn to the show because the concept was original and the protagonist was fun to play. Lee said, "The whole package was unique and once I came to found the character and the material and the scenarios and his relationships and he’s such a great guy and is so multi-layered and cares such a great deal for his city and his family and the people that he’s protecting." Lee listened to hundreds of Presley songs in preparation for the role, and said his respect for the artist grew as a result. The vocals for Lee's character are sung by Mark Arnell.
The title Delta Blues was originally considered, but it was eventually changed to Memphis Beat. The show was created by married couple Joshua Harto and Liz W. Garcia, with actor George Clooney and his production partner writer/actor/director Grant Heslov serving as executive producers. Harto and Garcia wrote the first two episodes of the series. Liz Garcia said of the show, "Broadcast TV is being influenced by cable in so many ways in terms of reinventing genres and taking chances, and this is part of it. [...] The forefront of creativity is on cable TV."
Despite the show's setting, the first season was primarily filmed in Laplace, LA and New Orleans, LA with only some key locations and exteriors filmed in Memphis. This has largely been attributed to the better tax incentives by filming in a state other than Tennessee.
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Wikipedia