Antoine Fuqua is settling down at 20th Century Fox TV.

The fast-rising director of 2001's "Training Day" and 1998's "The Replacement Killers" has struck an exclusive television deal with the studio. The pact will keep Fuqua at 20th for the next year with a one-year option to renew.

Fuqua worked with 20th in the past development season, when he directed the drama pilot "Murder Book" for Fox Broadcasting Co.

After that experience, Fuqua "was at the top of our list in terms of directors we want to get in business with," said 20th president Dana Walden, noting that the studio pursues few exclusive pacts with directors. She praised Fuqua's contributions to the pilot, which followed the methodical work of two Los Angeles Police Department homicide executives.

"The work he did on 'Murder Book' was visually stunning," Walden said. "He sees things in a different way, a more artistic and original way, in everything from the camera angles he chooses to the way scenes are lit. It feels unique and very distinctive."

Fuqua said he was anxious to get to work on new projects with the studio through his Fuqua Films banner and TV development head Josh Dragge.

"They are making meaningful programming at the cutting edge of entertainment," Fuqua said of 20th.

Among the projects up next for Fuqua on the feature front include the thriller "By Any Means Necessary," now in the pipeline at Paramount. HBO recently scooped up the rights to the Fuqua Films-produced documentary "Bastards of the Party," about the history of gang violence in Los Angeles.

Fuqua got his start in music videos and commercials before segueing into features in the late 1990s. In 2002, the gritty cop drama "Training Day" earned an Oscar for star Denzel Washington and a supporting actor nom for co-star Ethan Hawke.

Fuqua's other recent credits include 2004's "King Arthur" and 2003's "Lightning in a Bottle."