NEW YORK — Jimmy Smits is going back to his roots for his next big gig.
The Brownsville, Brooklyn-reared Hollywood veteran is set to star in the pilot for the upcoming CBS series, “East New York,” about a neighboring rough-and-tumble neck of the woods.
Smits will star as Chief John Suarez, who with and experience, commanding presence and strong moral center helps oversee the bridging of communities and the cops that serve them.
The new role brings the Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner and Latino television trailblazer back to primetime police dramas; he previously starred in the ABC drama series “NYPD Blue.”
As attorney Victor Sifuentes in the 1980s NBC drama series “L.A. Law,” the Thomas Jefferson High School alum broke ground as a Latino role model on primetime television.
The “East New York” pilot was co-written by Mike Flynn and William Finkelstein and will focus on a newly promoted deputy inspector leading a group of police officers and detectives not quick to adapt to her creative methods of serving and protecting the impoverished, working-class neighborhood at the eastern edge of Brooklyn.
Amanda Warren has been cast to lead series as Regina Haywood, whose plot takes place amid social unrest and early signs of gentrification. Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Richard Kind, Kevin Rankin, Olivia Luccardi, Lavel Schley and Elizabeth Rodriguez have also been cast.
Smits, who was most recently seen in the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights,” is also known for his work in series such as “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Sons of Anarchy” and “Dexter” among others.
Crowned “King of Brooklyn” in 1991 during the Welcome Back to Brooklyn Festival, the Brooklyn College graduate roots run deep in The Thorough Borough. So he’s perfect for the new role.
“I’m just a Puerto Rican kid from Brooklyn, who was determined to follow his dream and chase passion,” Smits said during his acceptance speech for the 2,696th star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame last summer.
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