USA Network was plenty popular before Mr. Robot came along — Suits, Psych, and Burn Notice were legitimate hits, not to mention the massive ratings brought in by WWE Raw — but it wasn’t taken seriously until then. The channel was the home of immaculately dressed fluff, Monk, and little else. Then Sam Esmail’s hacker thriller premiered, and now a USA show has a legitimate shot at winning the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
USA hasn’t really capitalized on Mr. Robot‘s success, though. The channel has a Mad Men-like building block — now it needs a Breaking Bad or The Walking Dead to keep the momentum going. (Colony and Queen of the South don’t count, and the absolutely delightful Playing House has a minuscule audience.)
Here comes John Cho to the rescue:
[USA] is developing Connoisseur, an hourlong drama hailing from Gary Lundy, Hand of God creator Ben Watkins, and Star Trek‘s John Cho, who will star. Connoisseur centers around Clay Park (played by Cho), a brilliant con artist who dupes the wealthiest, most powerful people in the country into paying millions for fake wine, but his hustle forces him into a deadly bargain with an organized crime syndicate, puts him in the cross-hairs of the FBI, and unearths the details of a tragedy that fractured his family years ago in Korea.
Will I watch a show starring Selfie‘s John Cho (yes) about a con man (yes) who sells fake wine to rich people (yes) and gets involved with gangsters (yes)? Make the theme song by Phil Collins, and USA has a recipe for success.
(Via Variety)
