Tradecraft: Tom Clancy Developing Cable Spy Drama
Variety and The Hollywood Reporter both report that Tom Clancy is developing—or at least lending his name to—a new spy drama for cable network TNT. According to Variety, Tom Clancy's Homeland Security "pits a select team of domestic intelligence operatives against all enemies, both within the country and outside." If The Hollywood Reporter's wording is to be believed, the bestselling author of the Jack Ryan novels will actually co-write the pilot as well as lend his name to it—which some fans believe is more than he did on his latest novel. He'll script the pilot along with Javier Grillo-Marxuach (The Middleman, Lost) and and Chris George. Clancy and Grillo-Marxuach will also executive produce along with Mike Ovitz. While many of Clancy's books have been turned into movies (and another Jack Ryan film, not based on a book, is still in active—if seemingly interminable—development), the author's only previous forays into television were the 1995 miniseries Op Center and a 1999 miniseries starring Scott Bakula based on the first book in the Net Force series that Clancy created.
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Actually in 1995 Clancy was also involved in the TV mini-series "Ops Center", starring Harry Hamlin. I never saw it but here's the storyline according to IMDB:
Paul Hood is the newly appointed director of the OP Center, a special agency gathering a wide variety of experts monitoring international crisis. On his first day on the job, nuclear missiles are stolen from the former Soviet Union by terrorists. The team must find out who did it, why, and most importantly, where they are heading so they can retrieve them.
Clancy co-authored the story (not the script) and was an executive producer.
When I read the post I immediately thought of "Op-Center" also. It wasn't bad, though there was (for me) too much of a soap-opera feel to it/too much emphasis on the lead character's person life, not enough 'spying' and political infighting. Now that I think about it an updated version might be very similar to "Strike Back', but with more attention/screentime placed on the ops room, less in the field.
Thanks, guys! I'll change it. Yeah, I thought I remembered another one of his name-only paperback series getting the miniseries treatment, but it was 2 in the morning and I was too lazy to look it up. Serves me right for just taking The Hollywood Reporter at its word...
Looks like Op Center is only available on VHS here and DVD abroad in a cut down 114-minute version, though the original run time was 170. Too bad. I'd like to see the full, uncut show.
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