PASADENA, Calif. -- William Devane can be one of the most charming guys you'd ever hope to meet. He can also be one of the most difficult.
And the star of the new CBS drama "Turks" is well aware that he doesn't rub everyone the right way."My energy gets up and I get going about what I think I need to do or the way I think I need to go," Devane said. "And people get offended by it. I'm very aware of that. I'm basically harmless, but that happens."
In his new show, Devane stars as Joe Turk, the patriarch of a Chicago family of cops -- a family that he says is in "the tradition of the Cartwrights" (on "Bonanza").
"I lobbied really hard for it to be called 'Turks: An American Family,' " Devane said of the show, which premieres Thursday at 8 p.m. on CBS/Ch. 2. "And, obviously, I didn't win. But the idea here is that this is a family."
And, of course, it is a family with complications. Joe is a tough, no-nonsense sort of guy who loves his wife, Mary (Helen Carey), but isn't too sure that she's still in love with him. Which is why the mutual attraction he has with waitress Ginny (Ashley Crow) could turn into trouble.
Joe's two older sons are also cops. Mike (David Cubitt) is trying to further his career, which doesn't leave much time for his wife (Sarah Trigger) and young son. Joey Jr. (Matthew Armstrong) is a straight arrow -- but his attempt to shield his younger ne'er-do-well brother, Paul (Michael Muhney), from trouble may end up costing him his career.
"This show, the way I liked to refer to it is it's a soap-opera chassis with a cop engine, and that's what it should be," Devane said. "The family is the key here."
Devane is best known for his nine-year run as the rich, powerful Greg Sumner on "Knots Landing." But he said Joe Turk is much closer to who he really is.
"Basically, I play a blue-collar guy, which is what I am," he said. "It's the first time I really have my own background to offer for a part that I've had a chance to play, so that's what really excites me about this.
"I've played stiffs in suits for all these years, and I never owned a suit until I went to 'Knots Landing.' They bought them for me. My uncle was a cop and my old man was a chauffeur. I come from that neighborhood. I hope we get a chance to really get going with this thing because there's a lot of things we can do with this."
"Turks" is a promising new series that could turn out to be very much worth watching. But, as Devane can testify, having a promising new series doesn't guarantee success.
Rather ironically, "Turks" will be occupying the same Thursday-at-8 p.m. time slot as Devane's last show, the 1996 ABC drama "The Monroes."
"We were fodder there on 'The Monroes.' There's no two ways about it. There was no hope for us," he said, noting that the show went up against "Seinfeld" at the height of that sitcom's popularity. "Going in, they knew that they could do better numbers with reruns of 'Columbo' (movies). When you know you can do better numbers with reruns of 'Columbo,' we're fodder.
"I mean, 'The Monroes' could have been a good show. It had a lot of potential. That, again, was in those embryonic stages where a lot of adjustments needed to be made and a lot of things needed to be done to get it going in the right directions, but ultimately, that could have been a very good show. Could have been an interesting show."
And Devane is determined to do what he can to keep "Turks" interesting. The creator/executive producer, Robert Singer, is an old friend of his -- but that doesn't keep Devane from expressing his opinions about the scripts.
"I've known Bob for a long time. . . . Basically, we're golfing buddies," Devane said. "It's kind of a good mesh. He doesn't get offended by my act."
Ah, Devane's act. Even he admits he can be a bit over the top at times.
"I remember I called (Singer) from Chicago one day, and I was trying to explain to him what I thought was the matter with the script and these two scenes we had to shoot the next day," Devane said. "After about a half hour, we hung up. The next morning he called me and he said, 'I feel like I got mugged.'
"And I went into the conversation consciously trying to tiptoe -- really trying to tiptoe."
The actor said it's a trait he and his character share.
"The reason that Joe Turk stays a sergeant is because he basically doesn't deal well with the politics of the next step. Which has basically been the story of my life in this business," he said. "There's a subtle way of doing business that escapes me."
Has that hurt his career?
"I think so," Devane replied. "Yeah, I think so."
But ask him about his new show and he'll give you an honest expression of his opinion.
"It's good and it gets better. (Episodes) two and three are kind of soft while we find our way," Devane said. "But four, five, six . . . eight is, I think, our best show -- a wonderful show. So this show builds."