Winter TCA: USA’s ‘Graceland’ tracks crime, not white jumpsuits

On USA network, nothing on “Graceland� is what it seems.

For the network that boasts an open-door policy for characters, the larger-than-life persona of the King of Rock and Roll (Elvis Presley) will not be one of its new recruits when the network’s new drama premieres this summer -- and there’s no Vegas backdrop or the Memphis mansion either.

The drama, which comes from Jeff Eastin (the man behind the network’s mainstay “White Collar�), centers on a group of agents from the FBI, DEA and Customs who are shacked up in a drug dealer’s Manhattan Beach mansion that has been seized by the government (in the show, the drug dealer is a fan of the King -- hence the house’s moniker and the show’s title).

“Within [the house’s] walls there’s safety,� Eastin told reporters Monday during the show’s panel at the Television Critics Assn. press tour (coincidentally, a day before Presley’s birthday). “From that idea came this sanctuary. And ‘Graceland’ flowed out of that.�

The series, inspired by a real-life group of undercover housemates living in Manhattan Beach, stars Daniel Sunjata (“Rescue Me�) and Aaron Tveit, who is fresh off his big screen role in “Les Misérables� as Enjolras (you know, “Red - the blood of angry men! / Black - the dark of ages past�).

Despite its beachside setting, the sunny skies take on a slightly neo-noir look. Eastin, who considers the “Graceland� pilot the best script he’s written, said the series is a darker show than the network’s other offerings. But he says the darker tone comes from reality, “whereas ‘White Collar’ sort of creates its own reality� -- a reality that has proved to be quite successful for the network.

“Definitely, there’s pressure,� Eastin said. “I think one thing I learned from ‘White Collar’ was to cast it right. Once the cast is set, it’s 90% of the battle.�

USA ushers in the new series just as it has cut ties with three others: “Common Law� and “Fairly Legal� were canceled, and the network chose not to extend the life of the limited-series “Political Animals.� On Monday, the network announced it would bring back “Necessary Roughness� for a third season.

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