TNT green lit three new shows yesterday, one of which is of particular interest because we’ve talked about and updated it a few times last year. That, and it has Steven Spielberg’s name attached to it. We first brought word of what’s only been described as an “UNTITLED ALIEN INVASION PROJECT” last May, a DreamWorks and Spielberg production being written by Robert Rodat (wrote the script for Saving Private Ryan and The Patriot). A months later we brought you word that the show had found its lead in Noah Wyle, reuniting the actor with Spielberg, who was actually behind ER (or at least his production company was). The very next day, we told you that the cast got hotter, as Wyle was joined by Moon Bloodgood, Jessy Schram, Seychelle Gabriel and Maxim Knight. We now know that TNT has committed to 10 episodes, and we should expect to see it sometime in 2011.
In this series from DreamWorks Television, Noah Wyle will star as the leader of a rag-tag group of soldiers and civilians struggling against an occupying alien force. The project is being executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank and screenwriter Robert Rodat. Rodat, who earned an Oscar® nomination for his screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, wrote the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg. The pilot was directed by Carl Franklin (One False Move, Out of Time).
“This series has the potential to be one of the most exciting and provocative shows on television,” Wright said. “It grabs your heart and mind from the start and doesn’t let go. It combines personal human drama with dynamic action to create the kind of series people will be talking about the morning after. We are especially thrilled to be working once again with Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Television, as well as Noah Wyle and the extremely talented cast of veterans and newcomers around him.”
The series opens shortly after aliens have wiped out most of the human population. The aliens are now rounding up the few people left, but they are met with strong resistance from a group of soldiers and civilians who fight for their survival – all while struggling to maintain their humanity.
Wyle plays Tom Mason, a former college history professor who becomes the reluctant leader of one of the resistance groups. Also starring in the series are Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) as Anne Glass, a therapist who works with the surviving children to help them cope with the traumatic situation; Drew Roy (Lincoln Heights) as Hal and Maxim Knight (Brothers & Sisters) as Matt, Tom’s two sons; Jessy Schram (Crash) as Karen, who is one of the survivors’ motorcycle scouts; and Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds) as Lourdes, an orphaned teenager who helps run the group’s commissary.
This project marks Wyle’s fifth venture with TNT, following three popular Librarian action-adventure movies and the acclaimed movie Pirates of Silicon Valley. TNT previously worked with DreamWorks Television on 2005′s award-winning limited series Into the West.
