Although the series pickup had long been a foregone conclusion, FOX has officially sent the Kiefer Sutherland drama “Touch,” from “Heroes” creator Tim Kring, to series.
FOX has ordered 13 episodes of “Touch” for a spring 2012 premiere.
“‘Touch’ is another ambitious series from Tim Kring that is beautifully executed and has incredibly resonant themes for our times,” states FOX Entertainment President Kevin Reilly. “With Kiefer back on the network as the face and force behind this creative new series, I”m confident it will resonate with viewers this spring.”
[“Heroes” detractors should resist the desire to respond sarcastically to the first part of Reilly’s statement.]
“Touch” stars Sutherland as a widower and single father struggling to connect with his 11-year-old son Jake (David Mazouz). It turns out that the son is special, capable of spotting patterns within numbers, patterns that connect seemingly unrelated events. It takes a kindly professor (Danny Glover) to help decipher the meaning behind the patterns. [Originally, the son was described in summaries as autistic, but FOX’s press release now only describes him as “mute.”]
FOX announced “Touch” and gave it a tentative midseason home at upfronts in May before a pilot had been shot. At the time, Sutherland was in the midst of a Broadway run in “That Championship Season,” preventing a traditional pilot production/ordering schedule.
“Every once in a while, you encounter a piece of material that you just cannot say no to.” the “24” star states. “That, combined with the opportunity to work again with Peter Chernin and the Fox studio and network, makes me thrilled to be a part of this project. I also look forward to working with an extraordinary writer and producer like Tim Kring.”
The “Touch” pilot, directed by Francis Lawrence (“Kings”) also stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a social worker sent to look after Jake’s well-being. The show comes from Chernin Entertainment and Tailwind Productions, in association with 20th Century Fox Television.