01/24/2012 CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks at a screening for the CNN Presents documentary Big Hits, Broken Dreams at Midtown Art Cinema in Atlanta on Tuesday. ph: E. M. Pio Roda / CNN

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David E. Kelley, who is better known for his legal dramas but also created “Chicago Hope” on CBS in the 1990s, is dipping back into the medical well with a new TNT drama set to air in the summer of 2013 called “Monday Mornings.”

It’s based on a fictional novel of the same name written by CNN medical chief correspondent Sanjay Gupta, who will also serve as an executive producer with Kelley. TNT has asked for ten episodes, which is standard for a new series for the Atlanta-based network.

According to the press release, the show mixes some big names with smaller ones:

The medical drama stars Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2, TNT’s The Company), Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica), Jennifer Finnigan (Better with You), Bill Irwin (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Keong Sim (Glee), Sarayu Rao (Lions for Lambs), and Emily Swallow (TNT’s Southland).

And here’s a synopsis:

Set at the fictional Chelsea General Hospital in Portland, Ore., Monday Mornings follows the lives of doctors as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings. The title refers to the hospital’s weekly morbidity and mortality conference, when doctors gather with their peers for a confidential review of complications and errors in patient care.

Leading the staff at Chelsea General are Dr. Harding Hooten (Molina), the steely-eyed chief of surgery, and Dr. Jorge “El Gato” Villanueva (Rhames), the hospital’s trauma chief. Their cadre of medical talent includes hotshot neurosurgeons Dr. Tyler Wilson (Bamber) and Dr. Tina Ridgeway (Finnigan); the abrasive Dr. Buck Tierney (Irwin); the socially challenged Dr. Sung Park (Sim); the petite-but-formidable Dr. Sydney Napur (Rao); and inquisitive resident Dr. Michelle Robidaux (Swallow).

Kelley’s extensive resume includes “Boston Legal,” “Ally McBeal” and the current ‘Harry’s Law” on NBC.

The last time TNT tried a medical drama was “HawthoRNe,” starring Jada Pinkett Smith that lasted three seasons until last year. It was a modest hit and received mixed reviews from viewers and critics.

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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk