‘Proven Innocent’ Star Riley Smith Previews Show’s Storyline, Cast [Watch Trailer]

After spending the last few years on The CW with his shows, “Frequency” and “Life Sentence,” Riley Smith is moving on over to Fox for his new legal series, “Proven Innocent.”

“‘Proven Innocent,’ for me, is a really nice step in my career,” the actor told International Business Times. “It’s a kind of script I was looking for and the kind of career move I was looking for. It’s a much heavier type of show.”

The 40-year-old was drawn to the script because of the dramatic role he’d be taking on, and he was interested in playing a character who’s “kind of the emotional backbone of the show.”

Premiering tonight, the Fox series follows siblings Levi (Smith) and Madeline Scott (Rachelle Lefevre), who were falsely accused of murder 20 years ago and sent to jail, before getting released after 10 years. When they finally get out, the two move forward in their lives in vastly different ways.

“My sister becomes a high-powered attorney to defend wrongfully-accused people in the Innocence Project,” Smith told IBT. “My character kind of shows actually more of the reality, what really happens to a lot of people when they come out of jail after years and are falsely accused. Which is, it’s hard to get a job, mostly everyone in town still thinks you’re guilty [and] doesn’t really want to be your friend or have you around.”

Created by David Elliot, the “Proven Innocent” cast also includes Russell Hornsby (“The Hate U Give,” “Lincoln Heights”) as Madeline’s firm partner Easy Boudreau, Vincent Kartheiser (“Mad Men”) as investigator Bodie Quick, Nikki M. James (“The Book of Mormon”) as communications director Violet Price and Kelsey Grammer (“Frasier,” “Cheers”) as prosecutor Gore Bellows.

Catch the Season 1 premiere of “Proven Innocent” on Fox on Friday at 9 p.m. EST.