Sam Tyler, meet Ray Carling.
ABC's adaptation of the hit BBC series Life on Mars has landed another cast member in the face of massive overhauling since shooting the original pilot (you can read my review here) under the watchful eye of executive producer/showrunner David E. Kelley.
Kelley, of course, will famously not be continuing with Life on Mars as a full-time showrunner and the series--which has become a co-production between ABC Studios and 20th Century Fox Television--has brought in October Road showrunners Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg and Josh Applebaum to oversee the series.
So who will be playing the notoriously sexist and difficult Ray Carling?
ABC has announced that Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) will join the cast of Life on Mars opposite Jason O'Mara as Detective Sam Tyler.
I'm intrigued by the casting of Imperioli as it comes on the heels of word that the production may recast all of the major roles (other than O'Mara) and is at least a step in the right direction towards creating a compelling cast for this so-far sodden US adaptation. (A complete rewrite of the script would also do wonders.)
Stay tuned.
They need to recast Sam as well. O'Mara is horribly wooden.
I saw the pilot was available to download (illegally) online. Maybe I'll watch it so I can see if they manage to improve it.
I enjoyed the original Life on Mars, though not perhaps as much as everyone else - it does seem to somewhat fancy itself too much ;)
Imperioli is a good choice but O'Mara just does not work as Sam and, overhaul or no overhaul, this pilot is nowhere near the brilliance of the original.
O'Mara appears to be, only physically, too big for this role. His size takes away from the weakness Sam should have with his situation and Gene Hunt.
From the ad, it was like Kelley was trying to turn this show into a comedy cop romance and the gritty 70s as the backdrop he had to work with. My wife and I love Liife on Mars UK because of Gene Hunt. He is the character you remember. He is crude and mean and bitter and just what you might imagine a cop in a tough city in that time to be.
Maybe LA isn't the right city?