'The Unit' Delves Inside Life of Commandos
Dennis Haysbert, center, stars in 'The Unit,' along with Scott Foley, left, and Robert Patrick. hide caption
Eric Haney, whose book, 'Inside Delta Force,' inspired David Mamet to create the show. hide caption
CBS's new drama, The Unit, has been described as part Mission Impossible, and part Desperate Housewives.
Actor Dennis Haysbert on which of his characters he prefers.
Dennis Haysbert stars in the series, and he's not new to the genre, having played the president in 24. In The Unit, he plays Jonas Blane, the commander of an elite anti-terrorist strike force.
The appeal, Haysbert says, is that there's "finally a show that offers the audience an explanation for what goes on and what is going on presently in the world. It makes the public feel safer, and it also helps the American people understand what the wives, sons and daughters, and girlfriends go through when their men are in combat. It makes you think about how they are deployed."
The show, created by playwright and film director David Mamet, was inspired by the book, Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counter-terrorist Unit, written by retired Command Sgt. Maj. Eric L. Haney.
Haney serves as producer and technical advisor on The Unit. The characters on the show, especially the wives, struggle with what about the profession they must keep secret. Haney says he isn't giving away Delta Force's secrets, either. "It's the fictional representation of a counter-terrorist organization. It's a great deal real," says Haney, "but no one knows better how to hide the things that need to remain hidden than those of us who have practiced this life and grown up in it."