Zap2It is reporting that James Gandolfini is headed back to HBO for an adaptation of the BBC show Criminal Justice. The crime drama had its pilot given the greenlight and writers Richard Price (The Wire) and Steve Zaillian (Schindler’s List) are on board.
As for Gandolfini, he’ll play Jack Stone, “a less than scrupulous attorney dressed in cheap suits and sandals, who trolls New York City police precincts for desperate clients. Stone stumbles upon an American-born Pakistani man named Naz (Rizwan Ahmed) in a holding cell and appoints himself Naz’s attorney. Naz is imprisoned for a murder which even he is not sure whether he committed or not.”
The original Criminal Justice was a BAFTA award winning show that had a two season run. Each season told a different story and had different characters. Despite this, if the HBO’s version does well and is renewed for a second season, Gandolfini would stay on board.
It all sounds quite promising and it would be nice to see Gandolfini back on the small screen leading another series, especially one at HBO. Hopefully this one works out because let’s be honest, we all need a bit more Tony Soprano in our lives. Am I right?
