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"Southland&amp;#039;s Ben McKenzie has picked up a potential new drama series role. The actor has been cast in the CBS drama The Advocates.  McKenzie is slated to play ex-convict Henry Bird in the network&amp;#039;s pilot from The Mentalist writer Bruno Heller, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The pilot centers on lawyer Shannon Carter, who teams up with Bird as they help victims of crime to get due justice. The Advocates will be directed by David Nutter (Arrow), who is also an executive producer on the Warner Bros Television project alongside Heller. McKenzie will also stay on with TNT&amp;#039;s Southland for the time being.  The Advocates is in second position for the former OC star, which means that if Southland is renewed, it will take precedence. Watch a video clip of Ben McKenzie talking to Digital Spy about Southland below:  US TV&amp;#039;s most exciting pilots - in pictures:  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/news/a463577/southlands-ben-mckenzie-to-star-in-cbs-pilot-the-advocates/>