Cinemax Sets ‘Micronesian Blues’ Drama From ‘Banshee’ EPs & Patrick Dempsey

Banshee co-creator executive producer Jonathan Tropper and executive producer/director Greg Yaitanes are partnering with Grey’s Anatomy alum Patrick Dempsey for a new crime thriller drama project at Cinemax.

Micronesian Blues, written by Tropper and to be directed by Yaitanes, is based on the true story of Los Angeles cop Bryan Vila, a former Marine who had served in Vietnam, who took a job training local police in Micronesia in the early 1990s, expecting a paid vacation. The series tells the story of a burned out LA cop who accepts a teaching job in Micronesia, only to find himself caught up in a bloody war between tribal gangsters, lawless mercenaries, and crooked CIA agents.

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Tropper and Yaitanes will executive produce alongside Dempsey and his producing partner/manager Joannie Burstein through the actor’s. Shifting Gears Productions. The company’s Justin Franklin will co-produce.

Banshee, which Tropper created alongside David Schickler, with Yaitanes directing the pilot, was a breakout for Cinemax. It recently wrapped its run after four seasons.

Yaitanes also serves as director/executive producer on the upcoming Cinemax series Quarry and has true-life crime drama Manifesto in development at Discovery. Tropper also wrote the 2014 Shawn Levy movie This Is Where I Leave You, adapting from his own novel.

As an actor, original Grey’s Anatomy star Dempsey, who left the ABC drama last year, will next be seen in Bridget Jones’s Baby.