Last week, we reported that directorAntoine Fuquaand producerJerry Bruckheimerare teaming up with Warner Bros. Television to produce a new TV series based on the 2001 crime dramaTraining Day. The producers were getting ready to pitch the project to all four major networks, and one week later,Varietyreports thatTraining Dayhas found a home at CBS. Depending on how quickly the project moves forward, hopefully we’ll hear soon about who will star in the pilot.
The originalTraining Daymovie starredDenzel Washingtonin his Oscar-winning role as LAPD detective Alonzo Harris, who spends a day with one of his new recruits, Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke), on his first day as a narcotics officer. Despite Alonzo’s exemplary arrest record, Jake learns quickly that Alonzo and the rest of his team are dirty cops. The series will be set 15 years after the events of the movie, but it isn’t known if these new characters will have any ties to Alonzo Harris or Jake Hoyt.
Will Beall(Gangster Squad) is writing the script, withAntoine Fuquaset to direct thepilot episode. The writer and director will also executive produce alongsideJerry Bruckheimerand Jonathan Littman, with KristieAnne Reed serving as co-executive producer. The originalTraining Daymovie was written byDavid Ayer, who is currently filmingSuicide Squadin Toronto, but it isn’t known if he will be involved in the series quite yet.Will Beallwas actually an LAPD detective himself before starting his writing career on the hit ABC seriesCastle.
This certainly won’t be the first movie-to-TV adaptation produced by CBS this year, with the network seemingly leading the charge in this category. CBS is debutingLimitlessthis fall, withRush Hourcoming in midseason.Limitlessis actually produced byBradley Cooper, who starred in the movie the show is based on. Fox also hasMinority Reportdebuting this fall, with ABC’sUncle Buckarriving in midseason. We’ll have to wait and see how long it takes for the pilot to come together, but it’s possible this show could end up debuting next fall.
If it does get aseries order, the show would likely land in the 10 PM hour, reserved for darker, more gritty fare. The network is home to plenty of crime/policeTV shows, but we don’t know enough aboutTraining Dayyet to determine what show it could best be paired up with. What do you think aboutTraining Daylanding at CBS?
