'CSI' Showrunner Carol Mendelsohn Sets Up Slew Of Drama Projects

In the first full development cycle since Carol Mendelsohn brought in Julie Weitz as president of her CBS TV Studios-based production company last year, Carol Mendelsohn Prods has sold a half-dozen projects to CBS, CW and FX, including cop drama Throwdown Gun to FX penned by LA Confidential author James Ellroy. Most of the company’s broadcast projects are based on books. The list includes three shows at CBS: FBI drama The Murder Room, based on the book by Michael Capuzzo and written by feature scribe George Nolfi (The Bourne Ultimatum); female cop drama Widow Detective, penned by David Hubbard (feature Noel); and another cop drama, Two Badges, based on the book by Mona Ruiz and Geoff Boucher and penned by Ted Humphrey (The Good Wife). At the CW, Carol Mendelsohn Prods is behind Unearthly, a supernatural drama based on the book by Cynthia Hand and written by Hellcats creator Kevin Murphy, and The Hollows, based on the book series by Kim Harrison and penned by Jordan Hawley (Smallville). Additionally, the company recently received a pilot order from TNT for Scent Of The Missing, an adaptation of Susannah Charleson’s novel written by Mendelsohn, Treena Hancock and Melissa R. Byer. That project stars Tricia Helfer as an adrenaline-junkie leader of a canine search-and-rescue team who assists law enforcement agencies with her partner, a golden retriever. WME-repped Mendelsohn, who continues to run CBS’ mothership CSI series, executive produces all projects along with Weitz. Here are descriptions of the shows on the company’s development slate:

The Murder Room (CBS), based on the book by Michael Capuzzo
True story of a world famous profiler, forensic artist, and leading investigator for the FBI who form a team to investigate crimes that have stupefied law enforcement around the world.
EP/W: George Nolfi

Widow Detective (CBS)
After having three partners killed in the line of duty, a decorated police detective adopts their families, becoming husband/ lover/ father.
EP/W: David Hubbard

Two Badges (CBS), based on the book by Mona Ruiz and Geoff Boucher
Mona Ruiz is a decorated police detective, the wife of a gangbanger in prison for murder and the mother of a son destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. A woman who oscillates between two worlds: the barrio she was born into and the city she protects.
EP/W: Ted Humphrey

Unearthly (CW), based on the book by Cynthia Hand
A girl who realizes that her destiny is to become an angel.
EP/W: Kevin Murphy
EP: Robin Schorr

The Hollows (CW), based on the bestselling book series The Hollows by Kim Harrison
Set in an urban fantasy world, Rachel Morgan, a PI witch, works with local law enforcement agencies to combat threats both mundane and supernatural.
EP/W: Jordan Hawley

Throwdown Gun (FX)
The lives of a white cop and a black cop are forever intertwined after covering up a violent crime while on duty — the consequences of which alter race relations in Los Angeles.
EP/W: James Ellroy
EP: Clark Peterson