Denis Leary Joins ‘Animal Kingdom’ Cast on TNT

Denis Leary has been cast in season three of drama Animal Kingdom on TNT. Leary joins Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman, Jake Weary and Shawn Hatosy in the cast. He will play Billy, Deran’s (played by Weary) drifter dad who Smurf (Barkin) kicked out years ago.

“Denis Leary’s extensive and successful career playing complicated, flawed characters makes him the perfect addition to this bad-ass Animal Kingdom family,” said Sarah Aubrey, executive VP of original programming for TNT.

Leary co-created and starred in Rescue Me on FX, and starred in the comedy Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, also on FX. His film credits include The Amazing Spider-ManIce Age, The Ref and The Thomas Crown Affair.

Animal Kingdomis about a Southern California crime family with Barkin playing the matriarch of the Cody clan.

It is produced by John Wells Productions in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television. John Wells is executive producer.

Animal Kingdom was developed for television by Jonathan Lisco and inspired by the feature film written & directed by David Michôd and produced by Liz Watts, who are executive producers on the series.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.