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CBS is taking on Limitless.
The network has handed out a hefty production commitment to a TV sequel based on Relativity’s 2011 Bradley Cooper thriller Limitless, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Cooper will exec produce but not star.
The drama picks up where the movie left off and follows Brian Sinclair as he discovers the power of the mysterious drug NZT, and is coerced into using his newfound drug-enhanced abilities for good.
Craig Sweeny (Elementary, Medium) will pen the script and exec produce the CBS Television Studios drama alongside Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci via their studio-based K/O Paper Products banner. The company’s Heather Kadin will also exec produce.
Read more TV’s Remake Craze: Who Gets the Money and Owns the Rights?
Cooper and Todd Phillips will exec produce through their Yet To Be Named Co. Relativity Television’s Ryan Kavanaugh, Tucker Tooley and Tom Forman will also exec produce. The company’s Andrew Marcus and Ray Ricord will co-exec produce. Leslie Dixon, who wrote the screenplay for the feature, will serve as a co-EP alongside Scott Kroopf, who produced the movie. Neil Burger, who directed the original feature, is also on board to direct and will helm the pilot should the project move forward.
CBS’ Limitless marks the first TV foray for Cooper and Phillips’ newly formed production company. Cooper’s first feature, American Sniper — in which he also stars — bows Dec. 25.
Limitless arrives as Kurtzman and Orci already have three series on the air: Fox’s Sleepy Hollow as well as CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 and rookie Scorpion.
Limitless opened at No. 1 when it debuted in 2011. It has grossed more than $160 million worldwide.
Limitless also marks the latest in a long line of movie remakes in the works this development season as networks look to cut through the clutter in an increasingly competitive scripted landscape. Key to the remakes is having the original producers on board — something 20th TV learned with its planned Say Anything reboot. While the studio’s parent company owns the rights to the feature, the original producers were not involved. The studio legally could have moved forward without their consent but ultimately opted to scrap the TV follow-up.
CBS is also tackling Rush Hour and In Good Company; Fox is reviving Big, Hitch, Monster-in-Law and Minority Report; NBC is readying Bewitched, Marley & Me, Problem Child and The Money Pit; and The CW is plotting The Illusionist, to name a few.
Sweeny is represented by WME. K/O is with CAA and attorney Michael Gendler; Cooper is with CAA; Phillips is with CAA and Warren Dern; Burger is with CAA and Karl Austen. Dixon is represented by CAA and Michael Gendler; Relativity is with Loeb & Loeb.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
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