May the reboots keep on coming!
CBS has followed the remake trends set by The CW, FOX, and NBC by picking up a remake of their own. The network picked up the 1970s Aaron Spelling series S.W.A.T..
Variety reported that the remake will focus on the 2003 film version of the show, which featured Michelle Rodriguez, Olivier Martinez, Colin Farrell, Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, and Jeremy Ritter and grossed 207 million dollars world-wide.
The show’s storyline will focus on an L.A.-born and raised lieutenant who heads an elite crime task force who bust up crimes when all other police resources have been exhausted. However, he faces some turmoil when he must choose between his loyalty to the streets and his loyalty to his fellow officers, who share a strong and necessary bond for survival against the worst of the worst criminals.
Instead of wading through an innumerable landscape of original scripts and pilots, networks are looking back at television history and remaking popular series from the 70s, 80s, and even 90s. Showtime has a highly anticipated reboot of Twin Peaks coming up, which will likely draw new and old fans alike. According to The Hollywood Reporter, studios are more willing to take the risk if they can guarantee having the original producers/showrunners/ or creators involved with the project in some way.
The project has been heavily hyped, with CBS already dealing with a sizable production commitment and series penalty attached, meaning the network is serious about their desire to make this pilot work for them. Hopefully, it will be on air longer than the original show, which despite having theme song that gave Rhythm Heritage a number one hit single, was only on air for two seasons.
The pilot will be written by Aaron Thomas, who will also serve as executive producer along with Shawn Ryan, Neal Moritz, Marney Hochman, Pavun Shetty, Danielle Woodrow, and Justin Lin, who is also set to direct. Lin is Taiwanese film director best known for his work directing Better Luck Tomorrow, Fast and Furious 3-6, and Star Trek Beyond. He has also done work on television, directing episodes of the beloved cult-classic Community and HBO’s addictive True Detective. Moritz was one of the original producers for the series.
This makes it the eighth drama pilot picked up by CBS for the season. It seems that networks are trying to make more blue-collar appeal to audiences, making this the second police/military drama picked up by CBS, joining a currently unnamed Navy SEALs pilot.