Jason Lee on the Memphis Beat

The star of Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and at least a dozen other movies (not all of which involved Kevin Smith), Jason Lee is best known as Earl from the sit-com My Name is Earl. Now, Jason Lee is walking the Memphis Beat on Conan O'Brien's new network, TNT.

Lee says he originally turned down the role because he considered it too much of a workload -- his character, Dwight Hendricks, is far more complex than simpleton, Earl Hickey. The show is also shot on video (as opposed to film), which Lee -- a self-professed photographer who swears he will never go digital - originally opposed, though he now admits he likes the way the production team is handling the medium.

Despite its name, Memphis Beat is shot in New Orleans, but Lee said, "You got to have Dwight and Whitehead walking down Beale Street in Memphis, so we're going to sneak-up to Memphis as often as possible to shoot the real stuff."

Memphis Beat premieres tonight on TNT and you can find a sneak-peek, along with behind-the-scenes footage, and more, on the Memphis Beat website. TNT carries full episodes of many of the shows they run on their website, but it does not say whether or not it will carry full episodes of Memphis Beat.

Jason Lee's Mallrats co-star, Jeremy London, has recently been making headlines as the alleged victim of a bizarre crime in which London says he was carjacked and forced to smoke crack. Not everyone believes London's story, though.
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Quotes for this post were taken from an article by Associated Press' Frazier Moore (fmoore-@-ap.org)
© C Harris Lynn, 2010