Frank Grillo is taking on another starring role in a cop drama series, as The Hollywood Reporter officially announced on February 10 that the former ‘Prison Break’ actor has been cast as the lead in ABC’s new supernatural crime drama show ‘The Gates.’

Terry McDonough is set to direct the show, and Luke Mably (of the first two ‘The Prince and Me’ movies), Janina Gavankar (who appeared in ‘The L Word’) and Chandra West (from ‘90210’) have also been cast. The show is being produced by Fox TV Studios.

‘Gates’ will be focused on a big-city police officer, played by Grillo, who suddenly gets a job as the chief of police in a seemingly small, harmless community. However, he soon discovers there’s more to the residents than they reveal. Malby plays one of the residents, a cardiologist who is a vampire-like creature, and West portrays the owner of the local tea shop. Gavankar will play a fellow cop who has a dark secret. The show is being written by Richard Hatem and Grant Scharbo.

ABC hopes to launch ‘Gates’ in the U.S. during the summer, while FtvS continues to look for international broadcasters. Scharbo and Hatem are also executive producing the show with Gina Matthews. ABC hopes to begin production in late March in Louisiana.

Written by: Karen Benardello