EXCLUSIVE: HBO is carrying on James Gandolfini’s legacy with Criminal Justice. Oscar winner Robert De Niro has stepped in to take over the role originally played by the beloved Sopranos star in the pilot. De Niro is attached to act in Criminal Justice, a seven-hour miniseries, with Gandolfini remaining an executive producer posthumously. (HBO previously greenlighted Criminal Justice with Gandolfini as a seven-part limited series in May). Steven Zaillian, who has been shepherding the project for over four years, is set to direct the first hour. Richard Price wrote Criminal Justice based on the BBC series created by Peter Moffat. On the mini, produced by HBO in association with BBC Worldwide Prods., Film Rites and Tribeca Films, De Niro joins originally cast Riz Ahmed, Bill Camp, Payman Maadi and Poorna Jagannathan. Production is eyed to begin in March.

It was unclear in the immediate aftermath of Gandolfini’s untimely June death in Rome whether HBO would proceed with Criminal Justice. But because Gandolfini had been so committed and passionate about the project, which he was getting ready to start filming upon his return from Rome, the network and Zaillian began exploring ways to do Criminal Justice in his honor. The New York crime story centers on an ambulance-chasing New York City attorney, the role originally played by Gandolfini, who gets in over-his-head when he takes on the case of a Pakistani (Ahmed) accused of murdering a girl on the Upper West Side. While the lawyer part is central to the overall story, in the pilot the character only appears in the final scene. That led to discussions between HBO and Zaillian about recasting the part, not an easy task as I hear the network and Zaillian were looking for a great actor whom Gandolfini would have wanted for the role and who would honor Gandolfini’s memory with his performance. I hear their list consisted of one name only, Robert De Niro, who responded and came on board.

Criminal Justice is executive produced by Gandolfini, Zaillian, Price, Moffat, BBC Worldwide’s Jane Tranter and Tribeca’s Jane Rosenthal, with Film Rites’ Garrett Basch and Attaboy’s Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders serving as co-executive producers and Berry Welsh as co-producer.

I'm a big Turturro fan, he might be my favorite actor, but what a huge missed opportunity for DeNiro.

John Turturro and Riz Ahmed star in the eight-parter, based on Peter Moffat’s Criminal Justice drama series that aired on the BBC in 2008-2009. Steven Zaillian directs and Richard Price is penning the script.

Turturro took over the role of Jack Stone, a downtrodden jailhouse attorney who frequents police stations for clients, initially to be played by Gandolfini, in 2014. Robert De Niro committed to succeeding the Sopranos star in the role shortly after Gandolfini’s death, but had to pull out because of scheduling reasons in fall 2013. Gandolfini has a posthumous executive producer credit on the series.

Filmed in and around Manhattan, the series delves into the intricacies of a complex New York City murder case with cultural and political overtones. The story examines the police investigation, the legal proceedings, the criminal justice system and “the feral purgatory of Rikers Island,” per HBO, where the accused await trial for felony crimes. Zaillian directs parts 1-3 and 5-8 from teleplays co-written with Price. They executive produce with Jane Tranter and Moffat. James Marsh directs part 4.

The ensemble cast includes The Wire‘s Michael Kenneth Williams, ER‘s Glenne Headly, and The Sopranos’ Max Casella, along with Bill Camp, Jeannie Berlin, Poorna Jagannathan, Payman Maadi, Amara Karan, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Paul Sparks, Ben Shenkman, Afton Williamson, Paulo Costanzo, Ned Eisenberg, Mohammad Bakri, Nabil Elouahabi, Ashley Thomas, Glenn Fleshler and Chip Zien.

The Night Of is an American eight-part HBO television miniseries based on Criminal Justice, a 2008–09 British television series. The miniseries was written by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian, and multiple episodes were directed by Zaillian. The Night Of will premiere on July 10, 2016. The first episode premiered early on June 24, 2016, via HBO on-demand.