Nick Ut/AP/REX/Shutterstock; Amanda Edwards/WireImageEdie Falco is returning to TV. The Sopranos and Nurse Jackie star is the first person to join the cast of Law & Order: True Crime—The Menendez Murders, NBC's new series about Lyle and Erik Menendez, brothers convicted of killing their parents. Falco will play defense attorney Leslie Abramson in the first installment of Dick Wolf's new anthology series.
"I've known Edie for more than two decades," Wolf said in a statement. "Our working relationship started when she was among an elite group of actors who made multiple appearances as defense attorneys on Law & Order in the early '90s. Edie was at the top of that list. She did a fabulous job on Law & Order and, as Leslie Abramson, will knock the role out of the park."
This is Falco's first regular network series work since Nurse Jackie ended. She appeared in Louis C.K.'s Horace and Pete and can be seen in The Comedian opposite Robert De Niro on the big screen now. Falco has won four Emmys and is the only actress to win an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy and Best Actress in a Drama.
"Edie's past iconic roles cement her place among the highest caliber of actresses working today and we couldn't be happier that someone of her stature will be joining our upcoming Menendez series," Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment, said in a statement. "We know she will do a remarkable job portraying the complexities of defense attorney Leslie Abramson and the issues that made her such a compelling figure."
Law & Order: True Crime—The Menendez Murders follows Lyle and Erik, who were convicted in the 1996 murder of their parents and sentenced to life imprisonment. They were 21 and 18 years old at the time and were tried separately. Two trials resulted in hung juries, a third found them guilty. Falco's character represented the brothers through the three trials and claimed they had suffered a lifetime of abuse from their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.
Rene Balcer will write and executive produce the series with Wolf, Peter Jankowksi and Arthur W. Forney.
Season one, which will be eight episodes, does not have a premiere date.