James Gandolfini Returns To HBO With 'Criminal Justice'

by uInterviewSeptember 21, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

If you thought The Sopranos would mark the end of James Gandolfini (more famously known as Tony Soprano), think again. Gandolfini is set to make a comeback in the HBO drama Criminal Justice, originally a BBC Peter Moffat creation that follows a single case for one full season. Written and produced by Steven Zaillian of Schindler's List and Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and Richard Price of The Wanderers and The Wire, the first episode of Criminal Justice will be filmed in New York City this fall. In this American adaptation, Gandolfini plays a defense attorney, Jack Stone, who in the first season represents Pakistani-American murder suspect (Rizwan Ahmed) — with the possibility of returning for additional seasons if the pilot gets picked up and ratings hold.

Although many actors who play iconic characters on TV have struggled to succeed in new small screen roles after moving on from their original hit show — with perhaps the exception of a couple of Friends actors (Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox) and Seinfeld's Julia Louis-Dreyfus, now lead of HBO comedy Veep — Gandolfini's acting chops, and a veteran writing crew, may be just what the Golden Globe-winning actor needs to make his anticipated comeback.

In the meantime, you can catch James Gandolfini in Killing Them Softly, a Cannes favorite starring Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta and Sam Rockwell, directed by The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford director Andrew Dominik.

Catch the trailer for Killing Them Softly with the venerable James Gandolfini here: