Last month, we heard that Frank Darabont, the creator of the heavily addictive AMC series The Walking Dead, was looking into developing a crime drama pilot for TNT. Since Darabont is no longer attached to his zombie phenomenon, the creative mastermind has jumped aboard the opportunity to write and direct a pilot titled L.A. Noir, a period piece about crooked cops and organized crime in 1940s and ’50s Los Angeles. Word spread that Darabont was also considering former collaborator Jon Bernthal, The Walking Dead‘s highly polarizing but universally noteworthy character Shane, for a starring role in the new series. Bernthal will have some company now: Heroes alum Milo Ventimiglia has joined the L.A. Noir cast.

Ventimiglia, who led the NBC superhero series as Peter Petrelli, the dreaming do-gooder with the power to “copy” other people’s powers, will take the character of Ned Stax: a WWII veteran who becomes a L.A.-based lawyer with ties to the mob and a penchant for “solving their problems.” Deadline reports that Ventimiglia’s character will be an old military buddy of Joe Teague, the role to be played by Bernthal.