New ABC drama 'Murder Town' set in Wilmington

Ryan Cormier | The News Journal

Wilmington has once again been labeled “Murder Town,” and this time, it’s not Newsweek – it’s a newly announced network TV show starring actress Jada Pinkett Smith.

ABC has ordered a pilot for the legal drama, which will be set in Wilmington and be called “Murder Town,” Variety first reported.

The city, which has struggled to contain gun violence on its streets, was tagged “Murder Town USA” in a December Newsweek article detailing its crime problem.

This time around, the “Murder Town” tag will have a much greater reach if the network picks up the show. No timetable for the show’s possible debut has been announced. Barry Schindel (“Intelligence,” “Numb3rs” “Castle”) wrote the pilot.

Variety reports Smith will play "Delaware’s first African-American district attorney" on the show, which she will also executive produce alongside Schindel.

“She finds herself confronted by old loyalties and loves, a shocking revelation about her murdered husband and a polarizing, racially-charged case that threatens to burn her and her city to the ground,” Variety wrote.

The dredging of the “Murder Town” moniker on such a grand scale as the title of a network drama starring a Hollywood heavy-hitter like Smith was not welcome news within the city’s borders.

“Oh my God. Just what we need,” said Will Minster, director of business development for the nonprofit Downtown Visions, upon hearing the show‘s title and description.

“I guess they heard enough about Wilmington that they thought, ‘Why not go ahead and stab at them,’” he said. “I don’t like it by any means.”

Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams, who was at Sherry Dorsey Walker's announcement of her run for Delaware lieutenant governor Tuesday night, did not think much of the idea.

"That's unfortunate," he said. "A bunch of has-beens playing in different roles to try to rebuild their acting careers. That's OK. If they want to come into Wilmington and spend some of that money, go to the west end, the Hotel du Pont, bring in 500 people to spend at our restaurants. I'll take their money. I just hope they get somebody good looking to play me."

Variety reported that the deal between ABC and show producers A+E Studios is for a “put pilot,” which means the network has already agreed to air the episode. If a network passes on a put pilot, it then owes a large fee to the studio, meaning “Murder Town” is likely to land on televisions nationwide.

The president of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, A. Richard Heffron, said he is concerned about the possible impact of the show, especially considering its name ripped from the headlines.

"I don't think it's fair to use the name 'Murder Town' and then use the actual city," Heffron said. "I would think they would use an anonymous city."

Lee Mikles, a marketing expert who co-founded the Wilmington-based Archer Group marketing agency and taught marketing at the University of Delaware's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, said the show's title is a tough blow for the city.

"Perception becomes reality and that's the fear of this. You can never shake it," said Mikles, now co-owner of Grain Craft Kitchen + Bar in Newark. "Baltimore had 'The Wire,' but they were quality shows that used Baltimore as a backdrop. This seems like the punchline is constantly that we're in Murder Town, whereas 'The Wire' was the realities of living in a city."

Joe Mauro of Wilmington-based Miller Mauro Group marketing firm agreed, although he thinks a national public shaming, thanks to the program's title could spur change in Wilmington.

"We've gone from the Chemical Capital of the World to Murder Town. Oh my gosh, what a challenge for anybody in branding," said Mauro, a Wilmington native whose agency builds branding campaigns for corporations, small businesses and nonprofits.

"But it could go either way," he added. "It could turn out to be a really bad thing publicity-wise or it might super-charge the community to say, 'We need to do something here,' because we really do."

Delaware anti-violence advocate Rob Moore of the Delaware C.H.A.N.C.E. Foundation was stung by the show's title.

"I really don't like it. That's crazy. That title is crazy. That's not how I want Wilmington to be portrayed. We're more than that," said Moore, whose nonprofit will produce a 23-person anti-violence play at Stubbs Elementary School on the city's East Side on Saturday.

"Our play is about young black males doing something positive. This is real bad," said Moore, who will host presentations of "I Should Not Be A Target" at the school at 2 and 6 p.m. (Tickets are $15 by calling 267-298-0569.)

Gov. Jack Markell issued a statement late Tuesday through spokeswoman Kelly Bachman:

"The Governor has talked to many loved ones of the victims of violence in Wilmington and he hopes any fictional portrayal on television doesn’t gloss over their heartbreak," the statement reads. "While there is plenty of good news in the city, including hundreds of millions of investment and hundreds of new residences, the governor continues to encourage the city to make Wilmington safer by fully implementing the recommendations of the Public Safety Strategies Task Force."

A report last spring by the task force, created by Markell to address rising violence in the city, issued many recommendations to change policing strategies in the city. Many of which have not been acted on.

The Baltimore-born Smith, who currently stars in Fox’s “Gotham,” is married to actor and rapper Will Smith.

"Murder Town" won’t be the first time Delaware or Wilmington has been featured in a TV show or film in recent years.

The 1999 Brad Pitt film “Fight Club” was filled with hints of its Wilmington setting. The climactic wrestling match in the 2008 Oscar-nominated film “The Wrestler” was set at the Wilmington Rialto Theatre, which was the name of an old city movie house that closed in the early 1980s. “Wayne’s World” famously zinged Delaware with its “Hi, I’m in Delaware” dead-pan. And, of course, 1989’s “Dead Poets Society” starring the late Robin Williams was shot at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown.

In the television world, the state has had more airtime on late-night comedy shows than ever before thanks to hosts ribbing our most famous Delawarean, Vice President Joe Biden. But for the most part, Delaware and Wilmington are passing mentions on television shows, rarely the setting. Perhaps the closest recent example would be NBC’s “The Pretender,” which ran from 1996 to 2000 and was set in the fictional Delaware town of Blue Cove.

When Newsweek’s “Murder Town USA” article was released 10 months ago, Mayor Williams released a statement condemning it.

"To refer to Wilmington as 'murder town' is a grossly inaccurate characterization that severely misrepresents the many good-natured residents within our community,” the statement read.

So far this year, there have been 25 homicides in the city, nearing the 2010 record of 29. There have been 133 shooting victims.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a 15-page report detailing steps the city should take to attack the gun violence, including identifying at-risk youth more effectively and offering services to stop their path to crime.

Wilmington City Councilwoman Maria Cabrera said seeing the name “Murder Town” for the first time was like "a punch to the gut." She thinks the city should urge the producers to change the setting from Wilmington to a fictional city.

"As we battle with the negative perception that Newsweek created, the last thing we need is the magnitude and reach that such a television series would create in turning that perception into reality," said Cabrera, who is contemplating a run for mayor next year. "People have a hard time distinguishing fact from fiction and the negative impact this would have on Wilmington will create a ripple reaction for years to come."

It's unclear if "Murder Town" producers will request to film parts of the show in the city.

While several websites and blogs have written that Wilmington blocked shooting of the film “Fight Club” in the city due to concerns of copycat crimes against credit card companies, former Wilmington Mayor James Sills denied it in a 2009 interview with The News Journal.

Even though Downtown Visions’ Minster is disappointed in the show’s title, he said he would not oppose the production from shooting scenes in the city if a request was made.

“I would say, ‘Sure, why not?’” he said. “We need film industry coming to Delaware. I hate that it is bringing light to something that is definitely a negative, but if that can help make a positive, then I’d work with them.”

Jonathan Starkey contributed to this story.

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook @ryancormier, on Twitter @ryancormier and on Instagram @ryancormier.