'Unforgettable' Is Not Your Typical Procedural, Says Executive Producer

Ed Redlich appeared before the press Wednesday with a message about his new series Unforgettable: It is not your typical procedural.

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The former Without a Trace executive producer acknowledged during a stop on the Television Critics Association's summer tour that he was very clear with CBS from the very beginning that he wasn't interested in returning to TV to do another straight-forward procedural. While the format -- a CBS staple -- has propelled the Tiffany network to No. 1 status, Redlich was looking to something more character-driven. 

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"In the CBS world of the Good Wife [the network is] opening up to telling different kinds of stories and getting involved in the personal lives of the characters," he told a roomful of reporters. Worth noting, while Wife has garnered the network heaps of critical praise, it has drawn fewer viewers than juggernauts like NCIS, NCIS: LA and Criminal Minds. "We all love to tell great stories that have wonderful endings, but we’re interested in these two people [Poppy Montgomery and Dylan Walsh's characters] and their lives as well, and I think that we have the leeway now at CBS to do that." 

He added, "One of the frustrations on Without a Trace is that we had this astounding cast and we were a little bit locked into a tighter procedural mold. In a way, the guest cast was often the star of the show."

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Redlich's new series will center on Montgomery's Carrie Wells, a former detective with a rare condition that makes her memory so flawless that every moment is forever embedded in her mind. The only thing that she can't remember are the details that would help solve her sister's murder long ago. Unable to detach from that troubling past, Carrie is unexpectedly reunited with her ex-boyfriend and partner, NYPD Detective Al Burns (Walsh), when the pair consults on a homicide case.

For Walsh, the freedom to deep dive into the shows characters was a big part of the draw. "What I love about it is that it's a great prodecural because it's more than that," he said, adding that "it looks at people more than your average procedural."

Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com
Twitter: @LaceyVRose