This season on TNT a new show popped up called Memphis Beat. It stars one of my favorite Actors, Jason Lee. I’ve been a fan of his since he did Mallrats. I still love that movie. So, when My Name is Earl abruptly ended I thought I was going to lose my Jason Lee Fix for good. Boy am I glad that I was wrong. I first learned about the show from a commercial and then I was supposed to be on an exclusive phone call to talk to the man behind the music of the show, Keb Mo. That didn’t pan out but I held on because I am a fan and as luck would have it I was contacted to be a Turner Insider so I could talk about the show and offer my readers some great prizes.

But I want to make sure that you are fans of the show and give the show a chance. There is nothing like it on TV right now. The characters are totally original and that includes the character of the city of Memphis. There is such heart in this show and it comes through in every epsiode. Here is a rundown of what the show is all about and following that I have a contest that you can win some Show Swag!

Memphis Beat centers on Dwight Hendricks (Jason Lee), a quirky Memphis police detective with an intimate connection to the city, a passion for blues music and a close relationship with his mother. He is “the keeper of Memphis,” a Southern gentleman who is protective of his fellow citizens, reverential of the city’s history and deeply rooted in its blues music scene.

Despite his impeccable instincts as a detective, Dwight’s loose, relaxed style of police work rubs his demanding new boss, Lt. Tanya Rice (Alfre Woodard), the wrong way. But Dwight may eventually win her over to a Memphis state of mind, especially when he takes the stage at his favorite hangout to perform a legendary song or two.

MEMPHIS BEAT co-stars DJ Qualls as Davey Sutton, a uniform cop who considers himself to be Dwight’s protege. Also starring are Celia Weston (Junebug) as Dwight’s effervescent mother; Sam Hennings (Saving Grace) as Charlie White, aka Whitehead, Dwight’s seasoned, hypertensive partner; Leonard Earl Howze (Barbershop) as Reginald Greenback, a fellow detective struggling to make ends meet with two teenage daughters; and Abraham Benrubi (ER) as Sgt. JC Lightfoot, an officer who uses Chickasaw tribal wisdom in his police work.

MEMPHIS BEAT was created by Liz W. Garcia (Cold Case) and Joshua Harto (The Dark Knight), who also wrote the first two episodes. Harto, who grew up in the South and has spent a lot of time with his country-musician grandfather, sees the show’s setting as a chance to spotlight one of America’s great cities. “Memphis has been largely forgotten in film and TV today,” he says. “It’s where the blues and Johnny Cash and Elvis came from. It’s where Martin Luther King was assassinated and where Isaac Hayes and Aretha Franklin were born and raised. It’s the perfect blend of drama and humor for our show.”

Music is just as vital to MEMPHIS BEAT as its unique characters, drama and humor is the music. “Music is a huge part of this show,” Garcia says. “It has to be. You can’t live in Memphis and not have your life steeped in music. The city has a soundtrack.”

To get that perfect Memphis feel, the production team approached noted blues singer/songwriter Keb’ Mo’. He will provide original compositions and performances for the show to supplement classic Memphis tracks.

MEMPHIS BEAT is executive-produced by Clooney, Heslov, Garcia, Harto, John Fortenberry (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Scott Kaufer (Boston Legal). Sean Whitesell (House M.D.) and Smokehouse Pictures’ Abby Wolf-Weiss are co-executive producers. The pilot was directed and executive-produced by Emmy nominee Clark Johnson (The Shield). Harto and Garcia are a husband-and-wife team. Harto is also an actor.

Prizes and Rules

• 1st Place – Memphis Beat: Branded Tee + Bottle of Memphis BBQ Sauce
• 2nd Place – Memphis Hot Sauce + BBQ Sauce
• 3rd Place – Five (5) Memphis Beat guitar picks

(Please read the rules. entries not following the rules will not be counted and will be deleted)
Contest open to US Residents Only.

1 Entry – Mandatory to Enter – To enter the contest visit the Memphis Beat site and tell me which character from Memphis Beat is your favorite or the one that you can’t wait to watch in action. Leave this as your FIRST comment.
(If this is not done your entry will not count)

Additional Entries (Leave 1 Comment for EACH Entry)

• 1 Entry – Follow TNT We Know Drama on Twitter
  (Leave a comment with your Twitter Name)
• 1 Entry – Visit Memphis Beat on TNT on Facebook
  (Leave a comment with Facebook Name)
• 1 Entry – Follow BenSpark on Twitter
  (Leave a Comment with your Twitter name)
• 1 Entry – Subscribe to BenSpark’s Personal Branding BootCamp
  (Leave a comment letting me know you signed up)
• 1 Entry – Daily Entry: tweet about contest … something like
  “Win Some #MemphisBeat Swag from @BenSpark – Enter here http://bit.ly/cyOCLX #giveaway“
  (Leave a comment with a link to your tweet. Here is how to get that link to your tweet)

The contest will run Until August 24th. I will choose the winner through Random.org at 10:30pm during the middle of Memphis Beat that night. I will not respond to any comments so that I can run the Random.org numbers correctly. The winner(s) will be notified via e-mail and will have 48 hours to reply with a U.S. Mailing address so that we can send the winner their prize. Contest is open to U.S. Only.

These prizes are free complements of Turner.