It’s not easy to be the breakout star on a series with as deep a bench of talent as FX’s Fargo, but last year saw Bokeem Woodbine pull it off. His turn as smooth-voiced criminal enforcer Mike Milligan infused the Minnesota-set show’s second season with an air of cool, playful danger, throwing the self-involved fumbling of characters like Kirsten Dunst’s Peggy into sharp relief.
Now, Woodbine will lend his talents to an even more inflammatory situation, joining the cast of A&E’s new ’90s period drama The Infamous. Set in Los Angeles at the dawn of the notorious 1992 riots, the series stars Woodbine as Shannon, a retired gang member-turned record producer, who becomes the fixated target of a vengeful member of the LAPD. The series will track the conflict between the two men, set against the rising backdrop of racial tensions that eventually exploded on the night the Rodney King verdict was released. (It’ll also contain “a musical component,” according to The Hollywood Reporter, meaning this might be the riot-heavy Cop Rock sequel we’ve all been waiting for lo these many years.)