Sep 22, 2010

Tradecraft: Fox Picks Up Spy Show From Kurtzman And Orci

Yep, it's another one.  If I were smart I'd just create a generic post template for this kind of tradecraft story, like "    [insert network]     Picks Up CIA Series From     [insert name]     " and leave it at that.  But I don't, because I'm glad that there are all these new spy shows in the pipeline, and I do want to give each one its due, even if it's tough to tell what will ultimately differentiate them all from the capsule synopses provided in the trades.  Anyway, this time it's Fox who would fill in the first blank, and Deadline reports that they've picked up a new spy series called Exit Strategy from the powerhouse TV factory of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.  Kurtzman and Orci's extensive spy resume includes stints on the underrated Jack of All Trades, Alias, and the new Hawaii Five-0 (which I actually enjoyed, even if Alex O'Laughlin is clearly no Jack Lord and the remake will obviously never equal the original), as well as penning the script for Mission: Impossible III with frequent collaborator J.J. Abrams (they also wrote Star Trek together) and producing the forthcoming Matt Helm.  Created by David Guggenheim, writer of the hot spy spec Safe House (now being made with Denzel Washington and the ubiquitous Ryan Reynolds), the trade blog describes Exit Strategy as "a high octane procedural set in the world of CIA agents who are sent in to 'fix' operations gone bad."  So... that really doesn't tell us very much.  I'm sure we'll learn more, though; the show has received a "put pilot commitment" from Fox, meaning (I think) that the network guarantees that it will actually shoot the pilot or face a stiff penalty.

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