This is us star Milo Ventimiglia has found his next lead role in a pilot for a titular cop show American Blue.
Multiple outlets included Deadline i variety reported on Friday, Jan. 30, that Ventimiglia, 48, is teaming up with the director David Yesterday in a show for HBO Max. The hour-long drama is written by Jeremy Carverwho is also an executive producer Brian Udovich and Neil Reynolds. Ventimiglia, on the other hand, serves as co-executive producer.
“American Blue will take audiences inside a gritty, authentic police drama that reflects the myriad challenges facing policing today,” HBO Max head of original programming Sarah Aubrey said in a statement. “As with The Pitt, our goal for longer seasons will allow viewers to dive deep into this world across multiple episodes and return annually. We can’t wait to see Jeremy Carver’s vision for American Blue come to life with Milo Ventimiglia in the title role and David Ayer directing our pilot.”
According to the official synopsis, Ventimiglia plays “native son Brian ‘Milk’ Milkovich (who) returns to his hometown of Joliet, Illinois, to rescue a beleaguered police force while seeking redemption of his own.”
With Tracker losing three major cast members ahead of Season 3, there’s potential for new (and even some familiar) faces to join Justin Hartley’s show. Tracker, which debuted in 2024, introduced us to survivor Colter Shaw (Hartley) as he travels the country to help find missing people, locate information on criminal cases (…)
Ventimiglia’s milk is described as “a natural and determined leader, who hopes to find a second chance in the place he left.”
“We are thrilled to have Milo and David join American Blue,” said Warner Bros. President of Creative Affairs. Television. Clancy Collins White shared in a separate statement. “Milo’s dynamic screen presence and David’s sharp eye are a perfect match for the complex character-driven drama that Jeremy created. We look forward to seeing this trio bring Milk’s journey to life.”
American Blue marks Ventimiglia’s new starring role after the success of This is us. The actor originally became a household name playing Jess Mariano Gilmore Girls from 2000 to 2007. From there he found success in shows including heroes i This is us – the latter earned him three Emmy nominations for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Ventimiglia later booked the lead role in the short-lived ABC series The Company You Keep. On the big screen, Ventimiglia appeared in Land of Bad and I Can Only Imagine 2. He also made a fun cameo in Jensen Ackles’ Prime Video show Countdown last year.
Most fans, including us, are also hoping to see Ventimiglia on former co-star Justin Harley’s hit CBS series, This Is Us. Ventimiglia, meanwhile, has said he would like to make an appearance on the show in the future.
“I saw Justin’s show last night too and (I’m) so proud of him and Ken and Roxy Olin,” Ventimiglia exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2024. “I saw a lot of familiar faces or names from This Is Us on the screen at the end of production.”
Ventimiglia noted that he “thought the show was great” and Hartley, 49, had “a fun role,” adding, “Reuniting with him or anyone else in the cast, or any of the movies he’s done in the last 28 or 29 years, I’m sure would be great.”
follower executive producer Elwood Reid recently spoken we about the delay in carrying certain This is us finished stars on Hartley’s new show.
“(We talk about it) all the time. If I’m going with these kinds of big names, I have to make sure I have a story,” he noted in December 2025. “The show works because we’re with Colter so much, and he’s such an interesting actor that he’s able to carry that big narrative load.”
Reid confirmed ongoing discussions.
“We’ve definitely talked about Sterling K. Brown, we’ve talked about Mandy Moore, and we’ve talked about Milo Ventimiglia,” he shared. “But until it’s really, really right, and matching the windows on these people’s calendars is impossible.”
Reid concluded, “If I have the right story, I’ll do it. But I’m always against doing just a cameo. We have to get a good emotional story or a funny story out of it.”
follower returns to CBS Sunday, March 1 at 9:00 PM ET.