Common Law's Pittsburgh Roots

USA debuts its new cop procedural Common Law tonight, focusing on a dysfunctional cop duo. What's interesting to us about the show, other than the show itself, is its Pittsburgh roots.

Showrunner Craig Sweeny (who has written for Medium and The 4400) hails from Squirrel Hill and Point Breeze. He graduated from Allderdice High School in 1992, and still has family in the region. From the feature in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Although it's set in Los Angeles, "Common Law" has some significant Pittsburgh roots. Showrunner Craig Sweeny, who previously wrote for "Medium" and "The 4400," grew up in Squirrel Hill and Point Breeze and is a 1992 graduate of Pittsburgh Allderdice High School. Mr. Sweeny still has family in Pittsburgh, including mother Maureen Sweeny, who recently moved back to Squirrel Hill after 15 years outside of Western Pennsylvania, and stepmother Dawn Sweeny of Fox Chapel.

While writing on "The 4400," Mr. Sweeny delighted Pittsburgh viewers with references -- street names, park names -- from Western Pennsylvania. He said not to expect quite so many on "Common Law."

"The Pittsburgh references started from, 'I need a name of a street,' and the first name I think of is Schenley. Or, I need the name of a park, and so I used Boyce Park. And then it made it through all the way onto air and it became a thing people started noticing," Mr. Sweeny said in January at an NBC Universal party in Pasadena, Calif.

 Actor Warren Kole's grandparents are from the Pittsburgh region:

"Common Law" co-star Warren Kole is a self-described "Army brat" who grew up all over the U.S. but his grandparents lived an hour south of Pittsburgh.

"The one constant was Western Pennsylvania," he said about his childhood and frequent visits to the area. "I had a countryside, Huckleberry Finn existence out there."

 Let's hope the show does well and helps buoy the burgeoning film industry of Pittsburgh.