Nick Nolte Cast in Fox’s ‘Broadchurch’ Adaptation

Nick Nolte is headed to the small screen.

The Academy Award nominee joins fellow heavyweights David Tennant, Anna Gunn, Jacki Weaver and Michael Pena in Fox’s Broadchurch adaptation, now titled Gracepoint. The 10-part series, which In Treatment’s Dan Futterman and Anya Epstein have been tapped to run, follows the events and investigation that unfold in the sleepy seaside town of Gracepoint after the tragic and mysterious death of a young boy. 

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Though the cause of his death remains unsolved – the boy was found on an idyllic beach surrounded by rocks and a jutting cliff face — the picturesque town where the tragedy occurred is at the heart of a major police investigation and a nationwide media frenzy.

Nolte will play Jack Reinhold, a stubborn, unmarried, willful man who has lived in Gracepoint for 20 years. He runs the kayak rental shop on the beach as well as the local wildlife observation program, where the murdered boy was one of his volunteers.

Gracepoint, billed as an event series, is scheduled to begin filming in January and will air during the 2014-15 season. It’s being produced in partnership with Shine America in association with Kudos and Imaginary Friends. Shine International is distributing internationally. The original series’ creator, Chris Chibnall (Doctor Who), will executive produce and pen the premiere episode. Joining Chibnall, Futterman and Epstein as exec producers are Shine America’s Carolyn Bernstein (The Bridge) and Kudos’ Jane Featherstone (The Hour).

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For Shine America, Gracepoint marks the company’s second scripted foray following FX’s recently renewed The Bridge. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Shine America CEO Rich Ross suggested his ambitions for the future were for his reality-heavy company to have as many scripted offerings as it does unscripted ones. Many of them will be formats, he added, touting the company’s ability to keep original creators not only comfortable with the idea of adaptations but also the activity involved in bringing them to fruition. In the case of Gracepoint, both the critically adored series’ creator and Broadchurch star (Tennant) will be part of the Fox iteration.

This event series is part of a larger effort at Fox to, among other things, lure top-shelf talent to the small screen. Truncated runs make the latter possible. A 24 follow-up and Wayward Pines, starring Matt Dillon, Melissa Leo and Terrence Howard, also are in the works at the network.

Nolte, whose credits include The Prince of Tides, The Thin Red Line, Affliction and short-lived HBO effort Luck, is repped by CAA. His other upcoming projects include films Return to Sender, directed by Fouad Mikati, and an adaptation of A Walk in the Woods, in which he will star opposite Robert Redford.

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