Kevin Reilly, president of TBS and TNT and chief content officer for Turner Entertainment, announced there will be a shift in focus at TNT. During Turner Broadcasting’s 2015 Upfront presentation Reilly said the network’s lineup of 11 original series is strong, led by returning shows Murder in the First, The Librarians, The Last Ship, and Legends. Reilly also confirmed TNT has Proof, Agent X, and Public Morals ready to premiere, and they’re moving forward on The Alienist, Will, and Animal Kingdom.
“TNT will continue to deliver great drama and live event specials, but our presentation and portfolio will look dramatically different,” said Reilly. “As we expand our portfolio, viewers should expect some very daring shows – some of which will not appeal to all of our current viewers but will be a lightning rod to attract new viewers.”
Here’s the details on the three just announced new shows:
The Alienist – TNT has greenlit The Alienist, a new eight-part drama series from Paramount Television, Anonymous Content, Emmy®-winning director Cary Fukunaga (True Detective, Jane Eyre, Sin Nombre), Academy Award®-winning producer Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Insider, Munich) and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Hossein Amini (The Wings of the Dove, Drive, The Two Faces of January). The Alienist is a co-production between TNT Original Productions and Paramount Television.
Based on the Anthony Award-winning New York Times bestseller by Caleb Carr, The Alienist is a fast-paced and atmospheric psychological thriller set in the fascinating and gritty world of Gilded Age New York City. After a series of haunting and gruesome murders, psychiatrist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, newspaper reporter John Moore and police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt come together employing emerging disciplines of psychology and early crime investigation techniques to track down one of New York City’s first serial killers.
Will – The wild story of young William Shakespeare’s arrival onto the punk rock theater scene that was 16th century London – the seductive, violent world where his raw talent faced rioting audiences, religious fanatics and raucous side-shows. It’s the hot, contemporary, dangerous version of Shakespeare’s life, played to a modern soundtrack, exposing all his recklessness, lustful temptations and brilliance. Craig Pearce (The Great Gatsby, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge) wrote the pilot for Will, which is being executive-produced by Pearce, Vince Gerardis, Howard Braunstein, and Louise Rosager.
Animal Kingdom – When 17-year-old Josh moves in with his wild, free-wheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town, he is pulled into their life of indulgence and excess. But after Josh discovers that it’s all being funded by criminal activities, it suddenly becomes clear to him that joining the family comes with more danger and excitement than he might be ready to handle. This family crime drama comes to TNT from John Wells Productions in association with Warner Horizon Television, with Emmy® winner John Wells (TNT’s Southland, ER, The West Wing, Shameless), Jonathan Lisco, Andrew Stearn, David Michôd (Animal Kingdom film, The Rover) and Liz Watts (Animal Kingdom film, The Rover) serving as executive producers. Wells is set to direct the pilot from a script by Lisco. The project is inspired by the feature film produced by Watts and written & directed by Michôd.
-By Rebecca Murray
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