‘RED’ TV Series Lined-Up At NBC

Remember RED, the feature film from 2010 (and sequel in 2013) starring Bruce Willis as a retired CIA operative that gets labeled R.E.D. (Retired Extremely Dangerous) and sent on the run? Well, despite the dreadful box office of the follow-up (under $150 million globally), it seems some Hollywood folk are interested in turning it into a TV series.

According to a new report from Deadline, Summit, Lionsgate TV and Di Bonaventura Pictures Television have teamed up with film writers Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber to bring a dramatic version of the show to NBC. Currently, there are no stars or director attached, nor is there an official pilot commitment.

Said the outlet:

Written by the Hoeber brothers, the TV series version will retain the core concept of the films but will be set in a more grounded and authentic world, focusing on the characters’ darkly hilarious struggles to survive civilian life as they simultaneously fight for and against the very organization that threw them out.

While official word may first be hitting now, there’s been behind the scenes chatter relating to a RED TV series since the summer of 2014. At first, the project took some convincing to get off the ground at Summit after the company had just about abandoned the property following the performance of the 2013 film. Eventually, word was that certain key players in charge of production became intrigued enough to begin shopping the idea of a pilot around to all the various broadcast and cable networks.

Just as last year, movie-to-TV adaptations are all the rage this development season. In fact, it was just yesterday we heard about CBS picking up the reigns of a pilot order for Training Day from Antoine Fuqua and Jerry Bruckheimer. Like that film, it appears that, once again, the team behind the movie is the same one behind the television series. So, perhaps we should wonder if, like Training Day, the RED series will also be set in a world where the events of the film exist. Although, the line of the show’s synopsis “set in a more grounded and authentic world,” seems to make that idea less likely.

Stay tuned for more on RED as it develops.

Source: Deadline