Proving that it learned absolutely nothing from Gracepoint, its failed remake of British mystery series Broadchurch, Fox is moving ahead with a remake of the BBC cop drama Luther, having handed the adaptation a pilot order. Additionally, the network has ordered dramas Frankenstein and Rosewood, and half-hour comedy 48 Hours ‘Til Monday.
The pilot order for Luther is dependent on which actors end up being cast. Idris Elba is (bizarrely) not attached as a star, though he and original series creator Neil Cross are attached as exec-producers (Cross will also pen the script). Chernin Entertainment’s Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope, as well as the BBC’s Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, will also exec-produce.
Luther will again focus on John Luther, a brilliant and tormented detective who gets inside the heads of the monsters he hunts. Whether Fox will botch it as completely as they did Gracepoint remains to be seen, but the depressing fact is that the network heads there are so desperate for shows that they’ve begun trawling Netflix to see what series streaming there can be repackaged, slightly altered and then aired as “Fox originals.”
Frankenstein sounds a bit less familiar. Hailing from Crisis creator Rand Ravich (who exec-produces and penned the script) and Homeland‘s Howard Gordon (on board as an exec-producer), it centers on Ray Pritchard, a morally corrupt retired cop who is given a second chance at life when, after dying, he is inexplicably brought back from the dead. Stronger and faster than ever before, Pritchard struggles to avoid old vices and pursue the new path that has been provided for him.
As for Rosewood, the “close-ended, investigative” series focuses on Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Jr., Miami’s top private pathologist. His state-of-the-art laboratory allows him to find evidence on bodies that anyone else would miss. Despite being constantly surrounded by death, Rosewood is incredibly optimistic, loving every second of his life, which frustrates the cynical female detective he often works with to no end. Psych‘s Todd Harthan wrote the script, and exec-produces with Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen, both of Temple Hill Entertainment.
Finally, Fox has ordered 48 Hours ‘Til Monday, a comedy about one husband fighting against the odds to save the weekends from dissolving into disaster. The Mindy Project exec-producer Charlie Grandy will script and exec-produce alongside Peter Traugott and Rachel Kaplan.
All four pilots join Fox’s bustling fall slate, which includes Minority Report, a continuation of the Tom Cruise sci-fi actioner; thriller Runner; and Ryan Murphy-branded Scream Queens.
