"Sopranos" vet Imperioli joins ABC drama pilot

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Michael Imperioli has dialed "187 Detroit," signing on for the lead in ABC's drama pilot.

The project offers a real but humorous look at Detroit's top homicide division as seen through the cameras of a fictitious documentary crew.

Imperiolo, who won an Emmy for his signature role as tormented mobster Christopher Moltisanti on HBO's "The Sopranos," will play Fitch, a smart, tough-minded veteran detective with a short fuse who has a near-perfect record for clearing cases and putting murderers in cages.

The pilot brings Imperioli back to ABC, where he played another testy detective on the period drama series "Life on Mars." He is currently in theaters playing a cop in "The Lovely Bones."