A focus on criminals gone good

It looks like Ice Cube will be keeping it real on A&E.;

The rap icon and star of such films as “Barbershop,” “Three Kings” and “Are We There Yet?” has signed a deal with the cable and satellite television network to produce “Good in the Hood,” an hourlong pilot for an unscripted drama series about gang members and urban criminals who have changed their ways and are looking to help other people do the same.

In a statement, Ice Cube, who would introduce each episode, said his goal is not to revel in the thug life but to shine a light on good deeds done in troubled neighborhoods: “This show is a way to demonstrate what is going on in a positive way in the urban community.”

For A&E;, the project fits with an ongoing push toward edgier fare represented by the unscripted voyeurism of “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” “Intervention” and “Growing Up Gotti.”

-- Geoff Boucher