Donnie Wahlberg Dishes On New Show

Former Pop Star Hopes It Doesn't 'Jump The Shark'

(CBS)  Donnie Wahlberg became famous in the late '80s as part of the boy band phenomenon, the New Kids on the Block. As a more mature entertainer, he moved into acting, landing a starring role in the movie "Southie" and a small but important part as a deeply troubled man in "The Sixth Sense."

This fall, he is back on the new CW network starring on "Runaway." He plays a fugitive on the run with his family, trying to hold it together while struggling to keep a debilitating secret. Wahlberg's character is the father of two teenagers and an 8-year-old boy.

"It's very exciting," Wahlberg told The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler. "I think if you raise the bar too much, people's expectations may be like 'The Fugitive.' It's a much more simple show but simplicity is one of its strengths ... It creates opportunities for limitless story lines ... He has to learn how to be a family man under these circumstances, so it creates wonderful stories."

The most important thing, Wahlberg said, is that a television show doesn't "jump the shark" — a reference to the episode of the hit show "Happy Days" when Fonzie jumped over a shark while on water-skis. After that, the show went downhill.

"This whole dynamic and this man trying to prove his innocence, it gives us a chance to have stories and stories, and keep telling fresh things to the audience," he said.

Wahlberg knew stardom at a young age when he and four other boys from Boston hit the scene as New Kids on the Block. He said he thinks of that time as college.

"That was my sort of time to learn the business, to learn about life and to gain a lot of experiences and go to the rest of my career," Wahlberg said. "For many people that might have been the end of the line. But for me that was the beginning."

His brother, Mark Wahlberg, also got his start in the music industry as rapper Marky Mark. Wahlberg said that the two have been discussing working on a project together.

"It's a matter for us finding the right material. We came from nothing," he said. "We were just street kids from Boston and there's this feeling that one day someone is going to take it all away from us, so we want to be careful and not give something like that away. We want to find the right project, something that could play to both of our strengths."