PREMIERE

IT'S NEVER BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR THE OFFICERS OF NEW YORK'S SECOND PRECINCT, ON THE SERIES PREMIERE OF "THE UNUSUALS," WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 ON THE ABC TELEVISION NETWORK

Like a modern-day "M*A*S*H," "The Unusuals" explores both the grounded drama and comic insanity of the world of New York City police detectives, where every cop has a secret. It also helps to have a twisted sense of humor, since every day could be your last.

Detective Casey Shraeger (Amber Tamblyn) has just been transferred to the NYPD's Homicide unit from Vice and is instantly thrown into a setting of bullets and bodies. As she begins her new assignment, Casey finds that the squad is full of secrets, which serves her well, since she's keeping a few of her own. "The Unusuals" premieres WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

In "Pilot," Casey is taken off the streets where she's been working as an undercover hooker and finds herself reassigned to the Second Precinct, effective immediately. She meets her new partner, Jason Walsh (Jeremy Renner), whose last partner, Detective Burt Kowalski, was just murdered. Tasked with tracking down the murderer, Walsh races off to investigate Kowalski's past, with Shraeger trailing behind.

As the duo seeks out the cop killer, the secrets and eccentricities of the rest of the department begin to emerge: Prank-magnet and social climber Detective Eddie Alvarez (Kai Lennox) has no qualms about stealing cases, as long as he can turn them into front-page stories that make him look good; Detective Eric Delahoy (Adam Goldberg) is trying to get himself killed in the line of duty for reasons known only to him and his doctor; his partner, Leo Banks (Harold Perrineau), is convinced he is going to die and refuses to take off his bulletproof vest; and the very religious Detective Henry Cole (Josh Close) is trying to keep his unholy past from both his streetwise partner, Alison Beaumont (Monique Gabriela Curnen), and from his boss, Sgt. Brown (Terry Kinney), who is struggling to rid the Second Precinct of corruption.

"The Unusuals" stars Amber Tamblyn as Detective Casey Shraeger, Jeremy Renner as Detective Jason Walsh, Harold Perrineau as Detective Leo Banks, Josh Close as Detective Henry Cole, Monique Gabriela Curnen as Detective Allison Beaumont, Kai Lennox as Detective Eddie Alvarez, with Terry Kinney as Sergeant Harvey Brown and Adam Goldberg as Detective Eric Delahoy.

Guest starring in "Pilot" are Joanna Gleason as Estelle Shraeger, John Scurti as detective 1, Adam Ferrara as detective 2, Waris Ahlawalia as customer, Chloe Cmarada as Vera Moran, Analeis Lorig as Nicole Brandt, Laura Odeh as Hannah Kowalski, Brett Berg as hot dog man, Rob Falcone as beat cop, Stephen Park as Councilman Tony Harbor, Sal Mistretta as German Viceroy, Brent Popolizio as Harold Snape, Victoria Dillard as Dora Nix, Jermaine Crawford as Malcolm Nix, Molly Noe as reporter and Robert Funaro as driver.

"Pilot" was written by Noah Hawley and directed by Stephen Hopkins and is shot in New York City. Created by Noah Hawley, "The Unusuals" is executive-produced by Hawley, Robert DeLaurentis and Peter O'Fallon, with Peter Tolan as an executive consultant on the series, which is produced by 26 Keys, Inc. in association with Sony Pictures Television for ABC.

"The Unusuals" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate.

This episode of "The Unusuals" will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.