Following in the footsteps of AMC, FX has decided that it is time to cross the bridge into Scandinavian crime drama with an adaptation of the popular Scandinavian show, Bron. While Bron is set around a murder that is discovered at the exact halfway point on the bridge connecting Malmo, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark the American translation of “the bridge” will be set on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
Much like their Scandinavian counterparts, detectives Marco Ruiz (Demian Bichir) and Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger), from Mexico and the U.S. respectively, are forced to team up to track down this clever serial killer who does not discriminate victims by their countries of residence.
This 13-episode show, which was announced to premiere in mid-February, will premiere on Wednesday July 10. The show is a co-production of Shine America and FX Productions under the direction of acting executive producers Meredith Stiehm and Elwood Reid who adapted the show for an American audience. The two come to the show experienced in crime drama with Stiehm previously serving as a writer and executive producer of Homeland and the creator of Cold Case while Reid also worked on Cold Case and served as the executive producer of Hawaii Five-O.
In a press release by FX with the announcement of the show, FX President and General Manager, John Landgraf said, “For years networks have been trying to develop a drama series set on the U.S.- Mexican border without any success. I’m thrilled to say that Meredith Stiehm and Elwood Reid have become the first to crack that creative code and they have done so magnificently.”
In addition to starring Demian Bichir (“Savages”, Weeds) and Diane Kruger (“Inglorious Basterds”, “the Host”), Ted Levine (Monk), Annabeth Gish and Thomas M. Wright are set to co-star with a guest appearance from Matthew Lillard. “Miss Bala”’s director Gerardo Naranjo directed the pilot episode. In the press release Landgraf said, “The setting, the writing, the direction, and the way it is brought to life by Demian Bichir, Diane Kruger and the rest of the cast makes for truly riveting drama.”
The Bridge will join FX’s other dramas Justified, The Americans, and Sons of Anarchy, all of which have received favorable reviews on Metacritic. FX hopes that the story of Marco Riuz, one of the last good detectives working on the Mexican side of the border, and Sonya Cross, an off-putting though adept cop, will garner as favorable of reviews.