PDA

View Full Version : With Nothing to Lose, NBC is Going to Attempt to Revive "The Western" Genre


Brian Damage
02-04-2011, 11:08 PM
NBC is saddling up for The Crossing, picking up to pilot a period Western from Peter Horton.

The Crossing (formerly Reconstruction) was originally developed at FX where it was set up in 2009. The drama, written by St. Elsewhere co-creator Josh Brand, is set in a Missouri town during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era and centers on Jason, a Civil War soldier who crosses the country and settles into a complicated town where he is welcomed as its savior -- whether he likes it or not. Brand and Horton are exec producing, with Horton set to direct. Also expected to executive produce is Aaron Kaplan, who has been attached to the project from the very beginning. Back in 2009, Horton told me he Brand came up with the idea for Reconstruction while discussing today's realities: the economic crisis and the situation in the Middle East, including war-ravaged Iraq. "We thought a good way to tell the story would be through the allegory of the Western," Horton said. "How does one heal after (a war)? How do you find your humanity again?" This is the second period drama pilot ordered by NBC this season, along with the 1960s Playboy.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/02/nbc-picks-up-period-western-drama-pilot-gives-formal-green-light-to-prime-suspect/

PlayOn
02-04-2011, 11:39 PM
I like westerns. I'm suprised after 'Deadwood', their weren't more.

Marvo301
02-04-2011, 11:49 PM
I've been watching Bonanza and Gunsmoke lately on one of my local channels and enjoying them. I think TV might be due for another western. And I agree with the producers that using the allegory of the western to examine the situation of soldiers home from Iraq is a good and an interesting idea!

dangfish
02-05-2011, 04:26 PM
I hope this becomes a reality. I would love to see a western on network tv again. I think there is indeed an audience out there for good westerns.