Donnie Wahlberg

Tom Selleck (Las Vegas, Jesse Stone, Magnum P.I.) is Frank Reagan, chief of police, worried dad and caught between living up to and dealing with the Reagan legacy.

Donnie Wahlberg (Boomtown, Band of Brothers) is Danny Reagan, Iraqi war vet and hot-headed detective who resorts to justice that is occasionally outside of the law.

Bridget Moynahan (Sex and the City, Eli Stone, Ramona and Beezus) is Erin Reagan-Boyle, assistant DA and newly single mom. Lone female Reagan. Moral compass.

Will Estes (Eleventh Hour, Reunion) is Jamie Reagan, who decided not to follow Erin into law, despite the law degree. He's a new beat cop. And he's got a choice to make.

Len Cariou (Damages, Law & Order, Brotherhood) is Henry Reagan, very stern patriarch and former chief of police. Exactly what did he start on his watch?

Buzz buzz
Tom Selleck! Donnie Wahlberg! Bridget ... I think you see where I'm going. With a cast like this, and writer-execs (Mitchell Burgess, Robin Green) who helped create and maintain the magic that was The Sopranos, what could go wrong?

But what do I know anyway? After having seen the pilot I predict...
It's the rare pilot that doesn't get hit at least briefly with the virus of onerous exposition ("Hey sis. I forgot we also have an assistant DA in the family!") and this has a few of those scenes. But they're over in a flash so go with it. I like this a lot. Love having Donnie Wahlberg back on TV (RIP Boomtown, gone so soon). Ditto Tom Selleck and the rest. Not groundbreaking (so far), but comfortable. The extra level of drama that gets wedged hard into the last few minutes is a bit of a jolt and seems, for the pilot as a whole, too much. Will the show need that extra or jettison it quickly? I hope it develops more naturally than it arrives.