Jason Lee said he was drawn to the show because the concept was original and the protagonist was fun to play. Lee said, "The whole package was unique and once I came to found the character and the material and the scenarios and his relationships and he's such a great guy and is so multi-layered and cares such a great deal for his city and his family and the people that he's protecting." Lee listened to hundreds of Presley songs in preparation for the role, and said his respect for the artist grew as a result. The vocals for Lee's character are sung by Mark Arnell. The title
Delta Blues was originally considered, but it was eventually changed to
Memphis Beat. The show was created by married couple
Joshua Harto and
Liz W. Garcia, with actor
George Clooney and his production partner writer/actor/director
Grant Heslov serving as executive producers. Harto and Garcia wrote the first two episodes of the series. Liz Garcia said of the show, "Broadcast TV is being influenced by cable in so many ways in terms of reinventing genres and taking chances, and this is part of it. ... The forefront of creativity is on cable TV." Despite the show's setting, the first season was primarily filmed in
Laplace, LA, and
New Orleans, LA, with only some key locations and exteriors filmed in
Memphis. This has largely been attributed to the better tax incentives by filming in a state other than
Tennessee. On September 16, 2010, TNT announced that
Memphis Beat was renewed for a second season, the first episode of which was broadcast June 14, 2011. On October 17, 2011, TNT decided not to pick up a third season of
Memphis Beat. ==Episodes==