10-11 PM · Starz · Debuts Oct. 17
CONCEPT Inspired by the 2005 Best Picture Oscar winner, this 13-episode L.A.-set
drama explores themes of race, class, and gender through diverse
characters: a drug-fried record producer (Dennis Hopper); a struggling
housing developer (D.B. Sweeney); an illegal immigrant (Luis Chavez);
and a horndog cop (Ross McCall).
THE SCOOP Dark humor will help sell the grit, promises exec producer Glenn Mazzara
(The Shield, Life): ''We're not making fun of the issues, but I do want
to make an entertaining show with people you'd want to spend time with.''
BOTTOM LINE Can't take Starz as seriously as HBO or Showtime? (It's the ''z'' — kinda
dumb, huh?) If done properly, Crash could give us reason to reconsider.
