TNT announced Monday that they have ordered a pilot for a drama series called L.A. Noir, which is based on John Buntin’s book L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City. Darabont (The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption) will write and direct the pilot and will be one of the executive producers with Michael De Luca (The Social Network, Moneyball) and Elliot Webb (Tall Time Tales).
L.A. Noir follows the true story of the street war waged by Los Angeles Police Department under Chief William Parker and the L.A. organized crime world led by Mickey Cohen. It will be set in the 1940s and ’50s, the post-World War II era, and be a backdrop where Hollywood stars and studio heads rose to fame and ran amok while a massively corrupt police force and criminals jockeyed for control of West Coast’s most prominent city.
Darabont said this through a statement from TNT:
“Noir is a passion of mine, so I feel blessed to delve into a project that speaks in the hardboiled vernacular. John Buntin’s superb book, though non-fiction, is our touchstone and inspiration for the stories we’ll be telling, weaving fiction throughout the facts and facts throughout the fiction. The book provides elements that are irresistible, a big canvas with endless possibilities. The goal is to deliver on the tone that the title L.A. Noir promises: a smart, gritty, authentic, period noir drama.”
“Also a blessing is the warm welcome we’ve gotten from Michael Wright and TNT, a great bunch of folks with huge enthusiasm for the source material. The best bonus of all is getting to work with my friend Mike De Luca. He’s terrific, a tremendously smart and talented producer, a gem. Partnering with him on this marvelous project after knowing him for so many years is an absolute treat for me.”
We’ve seen what Darabont did with zombies and TNT could give him carte blanche to do what he pleases to portray this stylish, violent period of history for Los Angeles. Think L.A. Confidential in a serialized form, or the video game L.A. Noire come to life. With Darabont at the helm, there will be no shortage of talent lining up to be involved. We’re also glad to see Darabont bounce back so quickly from The Walking Dead firing and head back to television where we feel he wants to prove he can make a TV series his way.
As for TNT, their signature has been cops and robbers. Procedurals like The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles, and Southland, heist show Leverage, and law comedy Franklin & Bash have shaped the network’s current identity. Last summer TNT stepped out of its comfort zone with the military sci-fi hit Falling Skies and this summer they are resurrecting 1980′s evening soap, Dallas. With L.A. Noir, TNT delves into a world where there are no “heroes” with a period piece drama that will target fans of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire (which is set a few decades earlier during the Depression) and gritty crime noir novels and comics. It’s still cops and robbers–but unlike anything the network has seen.
If TNT picks up the series, could we see a time slot of Sunday nights at 9PM or 10PM and put it head-to-head against Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead? The plot thickens… Currently the 9PM time slot is occupied by Leverage on Sunday nights, but it could be paired with LA Noir. This could be TNT’s biggest show or most expensive show. Why wouldn’t TNT want this to be featured on the biggest TV night of the week? It will depend on when the series (again, if picked up) would be ready and if it would run during the summer when TNT usually launches series or during the fall or winter season and give the cable network more original programming when the major networks are running their new content as well. Either way, it’s instantly become one show we’re going to be keeping our eye on.
What do you think about Darabont’s return to television and L.A. Noir?
