Michael Imperioli & Arielle Kebbel Join NBC Pilot ‘Lincoln,’ Based On ‘Bone Collector’ Book Series

NBC will soon film a pilot for a potential television series based on author Jeffrey Deaver’s popular Bone Collector books. The show, titled Lincoln, added actors Michael Imperioli, Arielle Kebbel, and Courtney Grosbeck to the cast this past week.

Lincoln is the tale of forensic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme, who gets called back into action after sustaining a serious injury while searching for a serial killer known as the Bone Collector. A young New York Police Department beat cop, Amelia Sachs, will join him in the hunt for the notorious murderer. They will team up to take on other high-profile NYPD cases as well.

In early March, NBC announced that the title character, Lincoln Rhyme, will be played by 44-year-old actor Russell Hornsby (Fences, Grimm). This past week, additional casting news was released.

Deadline reported that Michael Imperioli has been cast as Lincoln’s partner, NYPD detective Rick Sellitto. The 52-year-old actor is most known for portraying Christopher Moltianti on HBO’s The Sopranos, which won him an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Emmy award in 2004. In 2018, he appeared in the award-winning Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora.

Midnight, Texas alum Arielle Kebbel, 34, has been tapped to play Amelia Sachs, according to a separate Deadline piece. The character is described as “extremely bright” and someone who “can hold her own in any situation.”

On Instagram, Kebbel thanked her “top-notch team” for helping her secure the role after seeing how much she really wanted it.

“DREAM COME TRUE… I’m such a fan of The Bone Collector and it is an honor to embrace all that is Officer Amelia Sachs,” she wrote.

Lastly, playing Amelia’s younger sister, Rae Sachs, is actress Courtney Grosbeck (Homeland, Parenthood), Deadline noted. Rae’s character is being stalked and tormented by the Bone Collector.

NBC first announced that it was working on Lincoln in mid-January. The pilot will be directed by Seth Gordon (The Good Doctor, The Goldbergs), and written by VJ Boyd (S.W.A.T., Justified) and Mark Bianculli (Doomsday, The Jury). If it is picked up to series, Lincoln is expected to draw material from all 14 novels in Deaver’s Bone Collector series.

Moviegoers will recall that there was a film based on Deaver’s first book in the series that came out in 1999. The Bone Collector starred Denzel Washington as Lincoln Rhyme and Angelina Jolie as the police officer. Queen Latifah, Ed O’Neill, Bobby Cannavale, John Benjamin Hickey, Luiz Guzman, Michael Rooker, Mike McGlone, and Leland Orser were also in the movie.