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Rossif Sutherland’s new show “Murder in a Small Town” was an unexpected chance to carry on his late father Donald’s legacy.
The show, which premieres Tuesday, Sept. 24 on Fox (8 p.m. ET), is based on the Karl Alberg series of novels by L.R. Wright, first published in the ’80s. Years before Rossif got the starring role in the new procedural, Donald tried to get a film adaptation of the books off the ground.
“This was news to me,” Rossif, 45, told The Post. “I had no idea that this was one amongst many projects that my father had been attached to.”
He added, “I only found out when I called my dad to tell him that I had gotten this job for an American network, and they did the absurd thing of giving me the lead role.”
Hollywood legend Donald Sutherland died in June at 88. He left behind five kids, including Rossif and his half-brother, fellow actor Kiefer Sutherland.
“It did seem serendipitous, or maybe it was nepotism,” Rossif said about landing the role, adding that for the people who “wanted to bring the show to life, maybe they were enchanted by this idea that the son would get to play him.”
Rossif, also featured in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” added, “Here I am, my father’s now gone, and I’m in this show that he could have been a part of had it been done at a different time. It’s all a little surreal. I feel him all over this project.”
“Murder in a Small Town” follows Karl Alberg (Sutherland), who moves to a quaint coastal town as the new police chief to escape the big city. As he investigates crimes, he also makes a romantic connection with local librarian Cassandra Lee (Kristin Kreuk, “Smallville”).
“This show is a murder mystery, sure. It follows the formula of somebody committing a crime, and we have to figure out who did it, and why,” Rossif told The Post.
“But at the heart of it is a love story between two people halfway through their lives, who have suffered their own pains, and life has made them afraid of a lot of things … They’ve found each other. And now, it will be their journey to make this love survive the cruelties of life.”
He said he liked his character because “his superpower is his humanity. I was quite intrigued by playing a good man.”
Sutherland shared that although his father and brother Kiefer are actors, and his mother Francine Racette was also an actress, he didn’t grow up planning to get into the business.
But, he added, “I was in the presence of this great man, this great artist,” referring to Donald.
“It was always a gift, going to see his films. It was an absurd thing because I was his son, and there he was up on that screen. I rarely ever thought it was my dad. I’ve seen my dad die so many times on-screen before he passed [away] for real.”
Rossif said he became an actor “very much because of my father … In many ways, it’s what brought me close to my dad. And in many ways, it’s the thing that will keep him in my company now that he’s gone.”
Rossif added that he hasn’t worked since Donald passed away, “but I do look forward to being on a set. Because it’s the place that he called home, and I miss him.”