FOX announced on Wednesday (March 20) that it has started development on two long-form projects, one focused on O.J. Simpson’s murder trial and the other based upon the landmark James Clavell novel “Shogun.”
The “Shogun” project and “The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson” join the previously announced “Wayward Pines” and “Blood Brothers” on FOX’s development slate for upcoming “event series” productions.
“These are both epic stories — one fiction, one fact — that have captivated millions of people worldwide. They”re riveting and emotional, with unique historic backdrops that lend themselves to the high-quality, dramatic event series we”re looking to make,” blurbs Shana C. Waterman, Senior Vice President, Event Series & Multi-Platform Programming, Fox Broadcasting Company. “Since we announced our first two projects, ‘Wayward Pines’ and ‘Blood Brothers,’ we”ve received an overwhelmingly positive response from the creative community, and we”re ecstatic to have feature talent like Michael DeLuca, Nigel Williams, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson working to bring these stories to life at FOX.”
“Shogun” is, of course, set in 17th Century feudal Japan and focuses on a British soldier who rises to become a samurai. Michael De Luca and Nigel Williams are attached as producers on the project, which was previously adapted as an Emmy-winning 1980 miniseries featuring Richard Chamberlain.
The O.J. Simpson project will be based on Jeffrey Toobin’s best-seller and will be produced by Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewsk (“Ed Wood,” “Man on the Moon” will adapt. You may recall that FOX was in the O.J. Simpson business back in 2006 for the two-night semi-confessional special “If I Did It, Here’s How It Happened,” which was yanked before airing amidst widespread protest.
FOX will make a determination on the fate of these various event series hopefuls later this year, with the selected series expected to debut in 2014.