Christine Lahti to play 'Beverly Hills Cop's Chief

When I picture a chief of police in my mind, I imagine someone gruff, rugged, and none too easy on the eyes--I don't picture a knockout like Christine Lahti. But I imagine that's one of the perks of police work in Beverly Hills! Lahti has signed on to play the Chief of Police overseeing the antics of Aaron Foley (played by Brandon T. Jackson) in CBS' upcoming action comedy 'Beverly Hills Cop.'

The series acts as a sequel to the popular feature film franchise of same title; Axel Foley (played by Eddie Murphy in the films) had a son and that son has followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a cop in the city where his Dad became famous. Aaron is a hot-shot cop trying to get out from under his father's shadow--something which often leads to headaches for Lahti's character, Helen.

Helen is described as "well respected by her detectives, though she worries Aaron's penchant for being a renegade will one day embarrass her." I think that's a given. The cast for 'Beverly Hills Cop' also includes Kevin Pollack and David Denman.

Lahti is perhaps best known for her starring role on the hit 1990s series 'Chicago Hope,' however since then she starred in 'Jack & Bobby' and had a recurring role on both 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' and 'Hawaii Five-0.' In fact, her tenure on 'Hawaii Five-0' is ongoing, which adds an interesting wrinkle to this bit of casting news: does Lahti's move to 'Beverly Hills Cop' perhaps spell doom for her 'Hawaii' character, Doris McGarrett?

'Beverly Hills Cop' Exec Producer Shawn Ryan may have let it slip on his twitter last week that Lahti's Doris is going to rest in peace, tweeting:

One downside of casting a pilot: learning an actress who's supposed to be on a show you watch is getting killed off because now she's avail

Stay tuned to 'Hawaii Five-0' to find out!