Childhood Dream Comes True For Zuiker

When Anthony Zuiker was 14 years old, he attended an LL Cool J concert and remembered “wanting to be as famous as him,” Zuiker recalls.

24 years later, Zuiker received a phone call from CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler asking him if he would be interested in creating a show for LL Cool J, whom the network had just signed in a talent deal. That night, Zuiker came up with the concept for The Man. He soon got to meet his childhood idol and pitch his idea for the show. “He loved it, and we’re officially in business,” Zuiker said.

The Man is a mix of procedural crime drama and character-driven drama in which the veteran rapper-actor will play a cop with a busy domestic life. The undercover LAPD officer runs sting operations to break criminal rings by night and by day raises his three adopted kids – an abused boy with an aggression problem, a former streetwalker girl he put in community college and a skateboarder boy who is a recovering drug addict. The cop’s cover is being “the man” – the go-to guy in the upper echelon of Los Angeles, a high-octane hustler who can do anything, from getting into the hottest nightclub in town to scoring tickets for a Lakers game.

To create the main character, Zuiker said he was inspired by LL Cool J’s real story of a man with a double life – a famous performing artist and family man with four children.

“He can be a talented multiplatinum rapper and an amazing father, Zuiker said of LL Cool J. “He has such an amazing spirit and has a great connection with the audience.”

For the complete story, see Yahoo News.

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