After a detour to the big screen, Paul Haggis' "Crash" is about to reach its original destination: television.

FX has put in development a TV series based on Lions Gate Films' hit indie to be produced by Lions Gate Television.

Don Cheadle, one of the stars of the gritty drama about race relations in post-Sept. 11 Los Angeles, is likely to appear in and direct several episodes of the project if it goes into series. Sources said talks are under way with all other members of the cast, including Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser and rapper Ludacris, to reprise their roles from the film.

Bobby Moresco, who co-penned the script for "Crash" with Haggis, is in negotiations with Lions Gate TV to write the pilot script, sources said.

Haggis is executive producing the TV project, which has received a script commitment from the network. Cheadle, who also was a producer on the movie, is on board as a co-exec producer along with former TV executive-turned-producer Tom Nunan and Cathy Schulman, who produced the film through their Bull's Eye Prods., and another producer of the film, Bob Yari. Two other producers on the indie, Moresco and Mark Harris, also are expected to serve as co-executive producers on the TV show.

The idea for "Crash" stems from a real-life carjacking that happened to Haggis and his wife 10 years ago in front of a video store in Los Angeles. The scene is re-created in an opening scene of the movie by Bullock and Fraser as the couple whose car gets stolen.

Several years later, Haggis woke up one night with the idea for "Crash" and soon penned 40 pages. Because of his TV pedigree, Haggis, who by that time had worked only in television on such series as "thirtysomething," "Due South," "EZ Streets" and "Family Law," envisioned the project as a TV series while also pursuing the project as a feature.

But in 2001, when reality was red hot and taking over drama series' one-hour time slots, no networks were interested. So Haggis called his friend Moresco, and the two finished the script as a feature.

The interest among TV executives was much higher at a special April screening of the movie for TV brass, hosted by Haggis, Cheadle, Lions Gate TV president Kevin Beggs, Nunan and Schulman. Despite the fact that it was held at the height of the broadcast development season, the screening was well attended. Among the attendees was FX senior vp entertainment Gerard Bocaccio, who soon began to work with Lions Gate TV on a deal to bring the project to the cable network, which has built its brand around such gritty dramas as "The Shield," "Rescue Me" and the upcoming "Over There."

For Lions Gate, pursuing a TV show based on a hit feature is part of CEO Jon Feltheimer's strategy for creating franchises across different divisions of the company.

Lions Gate Films picked up "Crash," which Haggis also directed, at the Toronto International Film Festival for $3.3 million and released it May 5, on the heels of Haggis and Cheadle's Oscar nominations for "Million Dollar Baby" and "Hotel Rwanda," respectively.

"Crash" has emerged as the indie hit of the summer and has grossed almost $50 million domestically. The film is expected to do continue its successful run on video when it's released Sept. 6.

Lions Gate TV's series credits include USA Network's "The Dead Zone," CBS' reality show "The Cut" and the upcoming Showtime comedy "Weeds."

Haggis, who reteamed with "Million Dollar Baby" director Clint Eastwood on the upcoming World War II saga "Flags of Our Fathers," is repped by Larry Becsey of Intellectual Property Group and attorney Peter Dekom.