Crime-Time TV

A peek at NBC's ''Sopranos''-inspired ''Kingpin'' -- The gritty drug-lord drama, premiering Feb. 2, offers a cable-style crime clan

No, you're not tripping: NBC proudly presents a drama about...a drug lord. In fact, it was the Peacock's idea, inspired by the success of ''Traffic'' and ''The Sopranos.'' David Mills, the Emmy-winning cowriter of HBO's narco-miniseries ''The Corner,'' got wind of the net's jones and created ''Kingpin,'' the dark, sprawling story of a Mexican entrepreneur (Yancey Arias) who takes control of his family's dope-peddling empire (debuting Feb. 2). Mills expected that at some point NBC ''would come to their senses and not follow through on this. But every step of the way, they've just gotten more enthusiastic.'' Except for one thing: ''They don't like the word a--hole.''

Although it's another crime-family show, ''Kingpin'' is far from a Mafia-drama knockoff -- it's more like Shakespeare actually: Mills consulted the CliffsNotes for ''Macbeth'' while prepping the pitch. But while the Bard dealt with princes and kingdoms, ''if you want to tell those stories today, you're looking at the Mexican drug cartels -- family-run empires with palace intrigues.''