NOTHING’S ‘EZ’ FOR JASON GEDRICK

If there’s an expressway to stardom, Jason Gedrick isn’t taking it.

With his dark, virile good looks, he could have been a star of “Melrose Place” pinup proportions by now.

But Gedrick isn’t on that road. Instead, the 30-year-old actor appears to have made all the right choices for all the right reasons.

He’s now starring opposite Ken Olin and Joe Pantoliano in CBS’s “EZ Streets,” a decidedly downbeat police drama that’s this close to cancellation.

Despite overwhelmingly positive reviews, “EZ Streets” can’t catch a break with viewers--much like Gedrick’s previous prime-time projects: Fox’s “Class of ‘96” and ABC’s “Murder One.”

Gedrick doesn’t complain. He just keeps working.

“I’m where I should be career-wise,” the actor says during a St. Patrick’s Day visit to Manhattan. “I shouldn’t be any further than I am.”

He’s not giving up on “EZ Streets,” even though he knows it’s a long shot. The program ranked No. 87 in ratings the last week of March, and the last episode produced is airing this week.

“I think the audience has to hop on this train right now,” he says. “They gotta get on board this week for it to happen. ... I mean, let’s face it, if our ratings stay the way they are, there’s no hope at all.”

Dressed in head-to-toe black, the Chicago-born-and-bred Gedrick, a divorced father of two, has an unfailingly polite, easygoing manner.

He won’t go through a door if there’s someone to hold it for.

So he’s not prone to prime-time posturing or willful whining. You won’t hear him blaming the network for the show’s problems, even if a case could be made.

“I don’t know what the answer is,” he says when asked why “EZ Streets” hasn’t had an easier time. “I do know CBS is really coming on strong now with promoting it. I wasn’t sure at first. I think that maybe CBS thought, ‘What more can we do for the show that the critics haven’t already done?”’

Gedrick says he understands that point of view.

What he doesn’t understand is viewer disinterest.

“Audiences have a certain standard, and they don’t want you to go above that,” he theorizes.

“It makes you wonder whether or not you should just think about taking a show you think will be around for a while.”

Then, responding to his own question, he says, “Obviously, the answer is no.”

At least Gedrick isn’t lacking for offers or work.

Steven Spielberg called to see whether the actor would be available for ABC’s “High Incident.” And he has a plum role in CBS’s upcoming miniseries “Mario Puzo’s ‘The Last Don”’ (to be broadcast May 11, 13 and 14).

And he is bound to hold his own. He has been on Broadway (in “Our Town” with Don Ameche and Helen Hunt); he has done his share of feature films (“Backdraft” and “Promised Land”); he knows what he’s doing.

And for Gedrick, preparation is all.

He’s proud of the series he has worked on but withholds praise for himself.

“I still haven’t signed my name to a single performance I’ve had,” he says, speaking metaphorically. “I feel like I’m taking more time than the average actor to do that.”

Then, stating the obvious, he concludes:

“I’m in no rush.”

We’ll be waiting.

“EZ Streets” airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. on CBS.