Former New Kid on the Block singer/actor Donnie Wahlberg is heading back to series television. Wahlberg will team with and director/producer Jon Avnet for a new TNT series called Morse Code. The title may change, but the set up is Donnie as a war hero who becomes an officer for the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration). His beat is Boston, Donnie's hometown. The show is being scripted by Walon Green (Law & Order) and Avent will direct the pilot.

Wahlberg starred in the 2002 NBC drama, Boomtown, a highly touted series that never lived up to the network's expectations. That was the first time Donnie worked with Jon Avnet. More recently, in 2006, he was the star of Runaway for The CW. He received good notices for Spike's FX's The Kill Point in 2007, co-starring John Leguizamo.

TNT's programming executive Michael Wright, compared Morse Code to Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winner The Departed. The common thread between the projects would seem to be the Boston locale and a Wahlberg; Mark was in the big screen crime epic. "The guy at the center of this is a relatable everyman kind of cop -- an honest, authentic character that our audience can connect with on a personal level," said Wright.

TNT has had a great track record with their original drama series, starting with Kyra Sedgwick's The Closer. Saving Grace with Holly Hunter is also a TNT drama, which is coming back for its second season this summer. They also recently announced Ray Romano joining the network with an hour dramedy called Men of a Certain Age.