"Thank God people still need a place to take their date, and hopefully the movie theaters will still be there. But just in case, I want to make sure I've got my bases covered."
CBS’ Battle Creek is staging yet another House reunion.
House alum Bryan Singer has signed on to direct and exec produce the pilot for the 13-episode drama series, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
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The drama, based on a 2002 spec from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, centers on Russ (Dean Winters), a detective, and Milton, an FBI agent — two men with very different worldviews who are teamed up. Together, they must answer the question: Is cynicism, guile and deception enough to clean up the semi-mean streets of Battle Creek, Mich., in the face of a complete lack of resources? Or is the exact opposite — it takes naivete, trust and a boatload of resources — actually true?
Singer will direct the pilot and executive produce the drama, reuniting with House showrunner David Shore. Singer directed the House pilot and the third episode of the drama that starred Hugh Laurie. He exec produced all eight seasons of the Fox drama. Shore serves as an exec producer and showrunner on CBS’ Battle Creek. Gilligan penned the initial script for the Sony Pictures Television and CBS Television Studios drama. Mark Johnson is also on board as an EP, while Jason Taylor of Singer’s Bad Hat Harry and Erin Gunn will produce.
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Law & Order: SVU‘s Winters leads a cast that includes Janet McTeer, Aubrey Dollar, Edward Fordham Jr. and House‘s Kal Penn, who starred in 37 episodes of the Fox series.
Repped by WME and Bloom Hergott, Singer’s most recent TV credits include ABC’s limited series The Black Box. On the feature side, he’s directing and producing X-Men: Days of Future Past as well as X-Men: Apocalypse. Battle Creek reunites him with CBS Television Studios, where he was prepping a Twilight Zone reboot.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
