ABC’s forthcoming drama Avalon, from David E. Kelley and Michael Connelly, has found its showrunner.
Dana Calvo (Good Girls Revolt, Narcos) has joined the series and will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Avalon, a mystery drama set on Catalina Island, will be part of ABC’s 2022-23 lineup after landing a straight to series order in February.
Based on a short story by Connelly, the series centers on L.A. Sheriff’s Department Detective Nicole “Nic” Searcy, who heads a small office on the island that’s home to 4,000 permanent residents and caters to a million tourists every year — with hundreds of potential stories arriving by ferry each day. Detective Searcy is pulled into a career-defining mystery that will challenge everything she knows about herself and the island.
The show is the second at ABC for Kelley, along with Big Sky. He wrote the pilot for Avalon, but the prolific creator’s slate — which includes Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer (also in collaboration with Connelly) and A Man in Full, Peacock’s The Missing and Apple TV+’s Presumed Innocent — precluded showrunning duties.
Calvo created the critically hailed Good Girls Revolt for Amazon and launched and ran the writers’ room for Narcos on Netflix. Her credits also include CBS’ Made in Jersey and USA Network’s Covert Affairs. She’s repped by CAA, Manage-ment and Jackoway Austen.
A+E Studios and 20th Television are producing Avalon. Calvo executive produces with Kelley, Connelly, Ross Fineman of Fineman Entertainment and A+E Studios’ Barry Jossen and Tana Jamieson.
