Sneaky Pete (Bryan Cranston and David Shore) and For Justice (Rene Balcer and Robert De Niro) have been added to CBS’s network as new drama pilots.
Along with the Bryan Cranston and David Shore pilot (Sneaky Pete), CBS is adding For Justice, an adaptation of James Patterson’s novel, The Thomas Berryman Number.
The Cranston and Shore pilot, Sneaky Pete, revolves around a con man who steals his cellmate’s identity after leaving jail. The con man, “Sneaky Pete”, hides from the mob while working for the cellmate’s family bail bond business. As he takes down criminals even worse than himself, he discovers a family life he never had and the love of a woman who can see right through him and his nonsense.
Sneaky Pete hails from Sony Pictures TV. The show will be executively produced by Bryan Cranston, David Shore, James Degus (Cranston’s Moon Shot Entertainment banner) and Erin Gunn (Shore Z). According to Hollywood Reporter, Sneaky Pete marks Cranston’s first pilot order. Also at NBC, Cranston developed comedy Dangerous Book for Boys.
The other pilot CBS is adding is called For Justice. The show is written by Rene Balcer and centers around an FBI agent working in the criminal section of the Department of Civil Rights. Rene Balcer will also be producing this show alongside Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Bill Robinson and Leopoldo Gout. For Justice is hailed by CBS Television Studios.
For Justice touches on the racial aspects of crime that have recently stimulated a national debate. With focus on several high-profile cases, including the civil unrests in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting Michael Brown, a young black man, by a white cop, and in New York following the accidental death of Eric Garner at the hands of NYPD cops.
Premiere dates have not yet been released for either pilots.