New Latino drama ‘Cane’ sizzles with all-star cast

Sarah Rodman

If the new CBS drama “Cane” is successful, it will do for rum what “Dallas” did for oil: make it completely irrelevant as viewers focus on the soapy drama of a powerful family balancing business, sibling rivalry and romance.

But unlike the lilywhite Ewing clan of Texas, “Cane” centers on a Latino family in Miami headed by former “NYPD Blue” and “West Wing” star Jimmy Smits.

The smoldering Smits plays Alex Vega, who has been given the reins of the Duque sugar and rum business by his adopted parents, Pancho and Amalia Duque (Hector Elizondo and Rita Moreno). Vega has to contend with business adversaries and the manipulations of the Duques’ biological sons Frank (Nestor Carbonell) and Henry (Eddie Matos). The drama is further heightened by Vega’s marriage to Duque daughter Isabel (Paola Turbay).

The show’s creators and stars know that having the central characters be successful Cuban Americans is groundbreaking, but they hope that people tune in for the story, not the ethnicity.

“We have to do a good show,” executive producer Jonathan Prince said simply. “And I don’t know if a Latino audience will come watch this because it’s about Latinos. I hope they watch it because it’s a damn good show.”

At the same time, Moreno said, she is thrilled to be part of “Cane” due in part to what it means to Latino viewers.

“Because as a Latina, it’s so important for me to remind you of why this is important to many of us and particularly to the two older members of the cast. It’s the first time, as far as I know, that you will ever see a successful, educated, beautifully dressed, articulate Latino family who don’t necessarily talk like this all the time,” she said, adopting that all-too-familiar Latino accent. “I can’t tell you what that means to me. I’m 75. I’ve been around a long time now. And if nothing else, I am pleased beyond belief that I actually am going to have gorgeous clothes.”

Everything else about the show aims to be gorgeous as well, from the Miami setting to the beautiful and well-known cast. And like the names of the cast members, series creator Cynthia Cidre, who based “Cane” partially on her own upbringing, said everything about the show will be big.

Cidre and Prince say they drew inspiration from other well-known fictional families whose tales were told in operatic fashion, including “The Godfather,” Shakespeare’s “King Lear” and “The Sopranos.”

Of that last comparison to the heavily lauded HBO mob drama, Prince said, “I hope we get all of the critical acclaim and three times the viewership.”

“It’s definitely epic,” said Moreno. “It is a saga. It has passion. It is sexy.

“And what’s really going to, I think, turn on a lot of the older people in our generation is that [she and Elizondo] are a very sexy couple,” she added with a laugh.

Smits will serve as an executive producer on “Cane,” but don’t expect him to use that as an excuse to hog the limelight.

“If you think about anything in terms of what I’ve done previously on television, I think I function best when we have that ensemble element going on,” he said.

And a formidable ensemble it is: from Smits to TV veteran Elizondo (“Chicago Hope”) to the multitalented Tony, Grammy, Emmy and Oscar-winning Moreno, to Carbonell of “Lost” and Matos of “General Hospital.”

Executive producer Prince hopes those talented and famous faces set “Cane” apart from other shows bowing this fall.

“I think that in what they would have called the ‘fall clutter,’ how do you stand out? You stand out with a high-concept show. You stand out with a known face or known faces,” he said. “It’s rare to have a large ensemble cast led by incredibly recognizable people. That’s just a blessing because, come this fall, we hope people tune in and see a face they like and see a concept they like.”

Sarah Rodman is a staff music critic for the Boston Globe.