The 1990s urban cop procedural, New York Undercover, is being primed for a reboot. According to Deadline, NBC’s Peacock TV is negotiating a series commitment with showrunner Ayanna Floyd Davis (The Chi, Hannibal) and series creator, Dick Wolf (Law & Order, Chicago Med). Both Davis and Wolf will serve as executive producers through Wolf Entertainment along with Peter Jankowski (When You’re Strange, Twin Towers) and Arthur Forney (Altered States, Chicago P.D.). This series is part of Wolf’s five-year overall deal with Universal Television.
New York Undercover originally premiered on Fox in 1994 via Deadline. It ran for four seasons and starred Malik Yoba (Why Did I Get Married, Alphas) and Michael DeLorenzo (Resurrection Blvd., Gun Shy) as undercover detectives. At the time, it was the first police drama with two people of color leads to air in the U.S.
Wolf formerly pitched a return to the show for ABC in the 2018-19 season, via Deadline. Written by Ben Watkins (Hand of God, Any Other Friday), the pilot would have starred Yoba and Luna Lauren Velez (How to Get Away With Murder, Shaft) reprising her role as Detective Nina Moreno. ABC passed on the opportunity. Floyd Davis is to write this new version, updating the cop drama for modern times. According to Deadline, the series is still in the early stages of development with no word if characters from the original series will appear.
New York Undercover would become the latest of many rebooted series on the NBC Universal streaming platform. According to Deadline, reframing classic IP for new audience is a strategy for the network. Other series receiving the same treatment include Punky Brewster, Saved by the Bell, and Battlestar Galactica. Regarding future projects with Wolf, Bill McGoldrick, President of Original Content at NBCU Entertainment Networks and Direct-to-Consumer, discussed returns of former series as well as original content for the streaming service, via Deadline. Peacock currently houses both Wolf’s Law & Order and Chicago franchises.