AMC is losing a dinosaur hunter and gaining a James Bond. As first reported by Deadline, Pierce Brosnan, the famous British charmer who has starred in such iconic roles as James Bond in GoldenEye, the swashbuckling adventurer in Robinson Crusoe and very entertaining appearance as a lobster on Muppets Tonight will be taking over the starring role in AMC’s upcoming drama series The Son. Brosnan takes the place of Sam Neill, of Jurassic Park and Peaky Blinders, who was slated to star, but has exited the project due to personal reasons, according to Deadline.
The Son is based on a novel by Philipp Meyer and is a multi-generational epic that follows one Texas family and their oil empire. Eli McCullough, who will be played by Brosnan, is the charming head of a large Texas family. As a child, he was kidnapped and raise by the Comanche tribe, so he has learned a particular brand of violent and brutal justice to his career in business. Eli was born on the day that Texas declared itself independent from Mexico, March 2nd 1836, and he thus earned the nickname “The First Son of Texas.” The story follows several generations of the family, and it also mirrors the modernization and growing power of America.
Also starring in The Son are Henry Garrett, who also has a role in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, Longmire‘s Zahn McClarnon, relative newcomer to US television, Paola Nuñez, and Sydney Lucas from the Tony-winning musical, Fun Home. According to Deadline, production begins on the series this month in Austin, Texas, and is slated to premiere in 2017.
The series was given a straight-to-series order back in January. It is produced by Sonar Entertainment, which produces The Shannara Chronicles for MTV, which was recently picked up for a second season. It is also executive produced by Michael Connolly. The Son is written by Philipp Meyer, Lee Shipman & Brian McGreevy. Kevin Murphy (Defience, Hellcats, Caprica) will serve as executive producer and showrunner, and Tom Harper (War & Peace, Peaky Blinders) is directing.
The Son marks Pierce Brosnan’s return to television. He hasn’t starred in a television show since he played the eponymous detective on the procedural Remington Steele. Brosnan also spent a long stint starring as James Bond in Die Another Day, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and GoldenEye.