The former "West Wing"-er moves from Washington to Miami in this saga about an affluent family with plenty of power and problems.

If you loved "Dallas," or were a fan of "The Sopranos," check out CBS' new family drama, "Cane," starring JIMMY SMITS, HECTOR ELIZONDO, RITA MORENO and NESTOR CARBONELL, which is being compared to both hit series by TV critics.

It is something that Smits doesn't deny when asked if Alex Vega, his character, is more like Tony Soprano or J.R. Ewing.

"[Alex is] an amalgam of both," he says. "One of the great things about serialized television is that it's fluid. So we'll see. In the writers' room, it's something that we've been discussing in terms of where we're going to be going with that."

ET's JANN CARL was on the set of the series about the multi-generational Duque family who has done well in both the sugar cane and rum business. And, of course, with wealth comes power and problems.

"Boy, do we have problems," Rita tells Jann. "The wealthier you are, the bigger the problems.

In the premiere episode, Pancho Duque (Elizondo) acknowledges that it is time to turn the reins of the company over to the younger generation, but his decision leads to a rift between Alex, his son-in-law, and his biological son, Frank Duque (Carbonell), for control of the company.

"There's love. There's definitely jealousy, and there's got to be passion," Jimmy tells Jann. He also says, "'Cane' will not become a soap opera, but retain a grit and edginess to it."

"Cane" premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on CBS, and will be presented with limited commercial interruptions as the entire hour is being sponsored by Chevy to highlight its new "Gas-Friendly to Gas-Free" campaign.