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CBS has picked up its sixth drama pilot of the season — and the second for Sleepy Hollow duo Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.
Scorpion is inspired by Walter O’Brien‘s life and how the man with the fourth-highest documented IQ became a real-life Professor X. It centers on a an eccentric genius and his international network of super-geniuses who form the last line of defense against the complex threats of the modern age. O’Brien, who will produce, goes by the hacker name of Scorpion and serves as CEO ofScorpionComputerServices.com, a global think-tank for any funded problems. The show is centered on O’Brien’s life and how he recruited and trained other geniuses from around the world to save lives and solve problems, from casino security to military drone warfare. Together, the geniuses have learned to help one another round out their personalities in order to better fit in and provide a greater benefit to society than they could working alone.
Nick Santora (Prison Break,Breakout Kings,Vegas) will pen the script and executive produce alongside K/O Paper Products’ Kurtzman and Orci. The drama hails from CBS Television Studios, where Santora and K/O are both under overall deals.
STORY: TV Pilots 2014: The Complete Guide
K/O Paper Products’ banner president Heather Kadin and Perfect Storm Entertainment’s Justin Lin will also exec produce, with the latter on board to direct the pilot. O’Brien is attached to executive produce. SB Films’ Scooter Braun — who manages Justin Bieber — will also exec produce; Danny Rose is on board as a co-EP and Scott Manson will produce. Lin’s Perfect Storm partners Danielle Woodrow and Troy Craig Poon will co-exec produce and produce, respectively. (For his part, Braun was teaming with Bieber for a semi-autobiographical comedy based on the singer’s life at ABC.)
Scorpion,which landed at CBS as a put pilot in October, is one of multiple projects Kurtzman and Orci had in the works this development season. The drama is the second pilot order for the Star Trek duo, joining The CW’s terrorism entry Identity.
For CBS, this brings the network’s drama pilot haul to six. Last year, the network ordered 11 hourlong dramas.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
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