CBS has given a pilot order to Training Day, a drama series reimagining of Antoine Fuqua’s acclaimed 2001 feature that starred Denzel Washington as a rogue narcotics detective and Ethan Hawke as his rookie cop partner.
The project, which had a pilot production commitment, hails from Fuqua, writer Will Beall, Warner Bros. TV and studio-based Jerry Bruckheimer Television.
As we previously reported, the TV series project, set 15 years after the film left off, gives the dynamic of the characters from the movie a twist, with the rookie cop being black and the corrupt older cop being white. In the new Training Day, “an idealistic young African-American police officer is appointed to an elite squad of the LAPD where he is partnered with a seasoned, morally ambiguous Caucasian detective.”
It was Fuqua’s idea to do the neo-noir crime thriller as a TV series. He approached WBTV and also brought on board studio-based Jerry Bruckheimer TV and Beall. Fuqua is executive producing and is set to direct the pilot, written by Beall, who has feature (Gangster Squad), television (Castle) and police background as a former LAPD detective.
Buddy cop show has been high on CBS’ wish list. The network launched Battle Creek last season and has the upcoming Rush Hour, also a series adaptation of a popular movie title from WBTV. Training Day is not supposed to clash with Rush Hour — also centered on a diverse duo of cops — as the two shows have very different tones, an hourlong comedy (Rush Hour) and a gritty drama (Training Day).
Fuqua and Beall executive produce Training Day with Jerry Bruckheimer TV’s Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman for WBTV, Fuqua Films and Jerry Bruckheimer TV. KristieAnne Reed is co-executive producing.
The 2001 Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow movie was a critical and commercial hit, earning Oscar nominations for both Washington and Hawke, and a win for Washington.
