Three Join TNT's 'Delta Blues'

The cast of TNT's offbeat dramedy pilot 'Delta Blues' continues to take shape, as The Hollywood Reporter is reporting the signing of three new additions.

According to the article, DJ Qualls will be joining the series, which follows the life of Memphis police officer Dwight Hendricks (Jason Lee), who moonlights as an Elvis impersonator. Qualls, who has a forged a career in film ('Road Trip,' 'Delta Farce') and television ('Lost,' 'Scrubs') on the strength of his human dandelion looks, will play Dwight's policeman protege. The role should be familiar ground for Qualls, as the two previously worked together on 'My Name Is Earl.'The cast of TNT's offbeat dramedy pilot 'Delta Blues' continues to take shape, as the Hollywood Reporter is reporting the signing of three new additions.

According to the article, DJ Qualls will be joining the series, which follows the life of Memphis police officer Dwight Hendricks (Jason Lee), who moonlights as an Elvis impersonator. Qualls, who has a forged a career in film ('Road Trip,' 'Delta Farce') and television ('Lost,' 'Scrubs') on the strength of his human dandelion looks, will play Dwight's policeman protege. The role should be familiar ground for Qualls, as the two previously worked together on 'My Name Is Earl.'

Meanwhile, veteran comic actress Celia Weston, who is perhaps still best known for her role as waitress Jolene Hunnicutt on the classic sitcom 'Alice,' has also joined the cast as Dwight's mother. And the towering Abraham Benrubi, a fan favorite for his cuddly giants on shows such as 'Men in Trees' and 'ER,' will be playing another fellow cop who, as the article puts it, is "a 6-foot-5 Caucasian man with a braided ponytail who is only one-eighth Chickasaw but lives by his tribe's wisdom and dispenses sage quotations to the rest of the Memphis detectives."

Ah, those wacky television cops.

As we reported last month, 'Delta Blues' marks a return to prime time for Lee, whose acclaimed cult series 'Earl' ended in May after four seasons on NBC. 'Delta Blues,' which is executive produced by George Clooney, previously announced the additions of Sam Hennings, Robin Lively and Leonard Howze to the cast.