Recently, FOX Entertainment Group has picked up a female focused hour long FBI drama from showrunner Monica Macer, formerly of Nashville and Queen Sugar fame.
The Tribe is based on journalist and author Doug Stanton’s interviews of women in law enforcement. Most likely inspired by his experiences working with various points of contact in different branches of the U.S. military and government.
Stanton is also known for his lectures on the corporate world and civic groups, book clubs, current events, international affairs, politics, and writing. He is also more widely known for writing the New York Times best selling novel, In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis .
The series focuses on the personal lives of each female protagonist as they navigate increasingly pressure filled situations involving protecting America from serious harm. Macer and Stanton both executive produce respectively, while Thruline’s Ron West and Chris Henze collaborate on the project as well.
Macer intends for the drama to be character-driven and set in New York City’s field office for the FBI. Each episode will explore the plight of three female agents, as they struggle to balance their professional lives with their personal ones. A welcoming change from the usually male dominated FBI agent dramas.
FOX has given a script commitment plus penalty to Macer and her team. Which is an industry term used to imply if the network doesn’t pick up The Tribe, then they will owe Macer’s team a production fee. This type of agreement usually takes place when there is competition for a project in it’s early stages of development. Which is a good indication of The Tribe‘s level of desirability.
After reviewing offers from various networks, the writer and producer will only accept the network with the best offer. Who then signal their intentions by making a contractual commitment of sorts that is backed by financial penalties.
Deadline was the first to report on the series’ development.