How playing the LA mayor on TV makes Thomas Sadoski fall in love with the city

The new CBS series “Tommy” launches tonight. It follows a former high-ranking NYPD officer who becomes the first female chief of police for Los Angeles.

Actor Thomas Sadoski stars as LA’s mayor. “I have a great respect for Mayor Garcetti, [and to prepare for the role] I took a look at a number of press conferences,” he says.

But he says he didn’t talk directly to Garcetti about the role because he’s not portraying Garcetti: “I don’t have the first clue about what it takes to run a city this size because I’m not playing [Mayor Eric] Garcetti. … I say that with absolute respect.”

Sadoski is a Connecticut native who now calls LA home. “I genuinely have come to fall in love with this place -- specifically because you can’t ever lock it down. … This city is constantly evolving and changing in a way that I love,” he says.