Hip-hop crime drama The Infamous will not be picked up to series at A&E.
According to Deadline, the A&E Studios pilot may be shopped around to other potential buyers. With The Infamous not going forward at A&E and with Damien cancelled after its first season, this leaves critical darling Bates Motel as the only scripted series on the channel. A&E has seen plenty of success with its unscripted series including Duck Dynasty, Hoarders and Storage Wars.
Although A&E will most likely give the green light to other scripted projects, A&E Network CEO Nancy Dubuc has discussed a future where the channel is solely unscripted content. In her interview with Deadline in May Dubuc said, “I think first and foremost A&E is definitely in the unscripted business.” Clearly scripted content can survive and thrive on A&E from looking at the success of Bates Motel, but it seems the channel has not had any luck in capturing that same magic.
The Infamous, starring Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo, Saving Grace) and Jason O’Mara (Vegas, The Good Wife, Complications), centers on the racially charged conflict between a former gangster (Woodbine) and the LAPD cop (O’Mara) determined to put him behind bars. The series is set in 1990s Los Angeles right around the time of the L.A. Riots and takes inspiration from true stories from that chaotic moment in time. The Infamous pilot was written by Joshua Zetumer (RoboCop, Gambit) and directed by Anthony Hemingway (Treme, Shameless, The People v. O.J. Simpson). Zetumer is an executive producer along with Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson from Color Force and John Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius from Get Lifted.