Leaping from one special set of responsibilities to another, Marc Webb has now signed on to direct the pilot episode of CBS’ drama series, Limitless.
The forthcoming show has seen a switch in directors very close to its production start date. Originally, Divergent helmer Neil Burger – who also directed the 2011 movie – had been locked in for a stint in the director’s chair. He recently dropped out of that particular duty after he signed on to lens the pilot for Showtime’s upcoming financial drama, Billions. However, he will still act as producer alongside Bradley Cooper, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
A joint production between CBS TV Studios, K/O Paper Products and Relativity Media, Limitless the show will in part be based on the 2011 film starring Cooper and Robert De Niro. Written and executive produced by Craig Sweeny (Elementary, Medium), the show will pick up exactly where the movie left off. Set to follow the adventures of Brian Sinclair, the character played in the film by Cooper, it will trace his movements “as he discovers the power of the mysterious drug NZT and is coerced into using his newfound drug-enhanced abilities to solve weekly cases for the FBI.”
Transforming the stand-alone plot of the movie into a weekly procedural is surely a winning move. The quantity of law enforcement shows that hinge upon this type of “case of the week” formatting often receive high ratings, and are frequently renewed for several seasons. Currently, there’s no main actor secured for the lead, but we do know that Cooper won’t be reprising the role.
On board in an executive producer capacity for the pilot are Ryan Kavanaugh, Tucker Tooley, and Tom Forman for Relativity Television, K/O Paper Product’s Heather Kadin and Todd Phillips for Yet To Be Named Company.
We’ll keep you posted when any further developments land for Limitless.
