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A&E's 'The Cleaner' on Deck
July 9, 2008
A&E is currently unveiling their first original scripted drama in six years -
The Cleaner starring Benjamin Bratt. Launching July 15, it's TNT's
Saving Grace meets A&E's
Intervention
Currently, the audience is considering A&E's sanitized
Sopranos (A&E airs an edited version of
The Sopranos), and wondering about how much bleeping will be required in order to air
The Cleaner. As one producer said, "you trade a sh*t for an ass."
Oh, now someone is asking about sex addiction...never mind.
At any rate,
The Cleaner is William Banks (Benjamin Bratt), a family man w/ a past. After hitting rock bottom from his own addictions, he strikes a deal w/ god and dedicates his life to saving other addicts. His avocation conflicts with his family life.
It seems to be a more challenging role for Bratt who slogged through A&E's re-imagining of
The Andromeda Strain.
The Cleaner is inspired by the true story of real life "extreme interventionist" Warren Boyd, who also serves as co-EP.
Battlestar's Grace Park joins the cast, but she couldn't make the panel. "Grace put herself on tape, she was up in Vancouver. [The tape] was sort of grainy, not so well shot....but it lit up ...and we all said, that's the girl!" reports showrunner Jonathan Prince, referring to Parks audition, "so, we have Grace day. and she comes down tor 18 hours or 26 hours, and then she flies away again like some angel....She's cool in the part. The cool factor is high."
Surprisingly, Prince actually encourages Estaban Powell to reveal some spoilers about his character.
Powell discloses that his character, Arnie Swenton, "starts out as very funny, comedic. And then, as the series goes along, it progressively gets heavier and deeper. And before you know it, the sixth episode comes along, and there’s a whole dynamic shift for me...my sobriety is compromised, and it puts a strain on my dynamic in the team."
Posted by Mary McNamara on July 9, 2008 | Comments (1)
