‘The Infamous’ Pilot starring Jason O’Mara Dead At A&E, May Be Shopped

A&E has passed on hip-hop crime drama pilot The Infamous, from A+E Studios. I hear the studio is talking to the project’s producers about potentially shopping the pilot starring Bokeem Woodbine and Jason O’Mara elsewhere.

Written by Joshua Zetumer and directed by Anthony Hemingway, The Infamous is set against real events in turbulent 1990s Los Angeles leading up to the L.A. Riots. It revolves around two complicated men on a collision course: an ambitious reformed gangster (Woodbine) poised to break out of South Central and the LAPD detective (O’Mara) hell-bent on taking him down.

Zetumer is executive producing with Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson as well as Get Lifted’s John Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius.

The Infamous was the only A&E pilot currently in contention. With it not going forward and series Damien recently canceled after one season, veteran Bates Motel remains the only scripted series on A&E. The network is expected to greenlight new scripted projects soon.

In an interview with Deadline last month, A+E Networks CEO Nancy Dubuc addressed the possibility for A&E to revert to an all-unscripted lineup following the end of Bates Motel, with History carrying scripted series.

“I can absolutely imagine a day, but it really is creatively dependent that a project walks in the door, and we absolutely have to do it and it has nothing to do with historical fact and it has no appeal to women,” she said. “The beautiful thing about our portfolio is that we could find a home for that because we have A&E. I think first and foremost A&E is definitely in the unscripted business, though I’m not ruling it out. But clearly if I were going to double-down I think History is the great opportunity for us to do that and declare that.”