Fox has roped in a Western drama from “Chuck” executive producer Scott Rosenbaum.
The untitled project, from Warner Bros. TV and McG’s studio-based Wonderland Sound and Vision, has landed a script commitment with a significant penalty.
Described as an epic Western with a sci-fi twist, the show will revolve around “a gunslinger caught between worlds” and will feature a nod to “Planet of the Apes,” said Rosenbaum, who is executive producing with Wonderland’s McG and Peter Johnson.
“What I’m really interested in is the revamping of the Western genre where you still have all of the iconic Western themes and iconic Western tropes but the idea is that it will feel incredibly contemporary and will introduce the Western to a whole new generation,” Rosenbaum said.
Rosenbaum, who was under a blind script deal at WBTV, had been seeking to do a Western with sci-fi elements for years. He mentioned the idea in a passing conversation with Johnson, who also is an exec producer on “Chuck.”
Johnson, in turn, had just met with Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly and exec vp Matt Cherniss, who had told him that they were looking to do a revamped Western this development season.
Rosenbaum had worked with Reilly and Cherniss at FX, where they were entertainment president and senior vp, respectively, and he was an exec producer on “The Shield.” He pitched his idea to them, and the project was quickly set up at network.
Wonderland has strong ties with Fox, where the company landed its first series, “Fastlane” and “The O.C.”
Wonderland is behind the network’s new drama “Human Target,” which joins the company’s returning series “Chuck” and “Supernatural.”
Rosenbaum is repped by UTA and attorney Michael Gendler.
