‘Training Day’ to feature Bill Paxton dedication

LOS ANGELES — CBS drama “Training Day” will pay remembrance to star Bill Paxton Thursday, Variety has learned.

Paxton died Saturday at age 61 from complications following heart surgery. Thursday’s episode of “Training Day” will feature a dedication to the actor at the top of the show.

Production on the 13-episode first season of “Training Day,” starring Paxton and Justin Cornwell as two LAPD detectives, wrapped in December. No decision has yet been made about the show’s future. Four episodes into its run, however, the Warner Bros. Television-produced drama has drawn soft ratings. The series has averaged a 0.8 rating in the 18-49 demo and 4.2 million total viewers in Nielsen live-plus-same day numbers.

Executive produced by Antoine Fuqua, Jerry Bruckheimer, Will Beall, and Jonathan Littman, “Training Day” takes place a decade and a half after Fuqua’s 2001 feature film. Paxton stars as Frank Roarke, a shady detective who is being investigated by Cornwell’s Kyle Craig, who is working undercover as Roarke’s partner.

Thursday’s episode will air as planned in its 10 p.m. timeslot.

Speaking about the show at the Television Critics Association press tour in January, Paxton said, “I think the thing that I really dug about this whole thing, besides that it has been a lot of fun to play such a rankish, rogue character, and it kind of plays to all of my strengths — you know, I like to be entertaining. That’s what I do. I’m an entertainer. And Frank Rourke, if he’s anything, he is at least entertaining. I think audiences will relate to him across the aisle.”