Fox has announced they have placed a 13-episode series order to BACKSTROM, a one-hour drama based on Swedish Leif G.W. Persson’s series of books of the same name. The series stars Rainn Wilson as Detective Everett Backstrom, an “offensive, irascible” detective, who is struggling to change his self-destructive ways. Backstrom leads his team, the Serious Crimes Unit, which works Portland’s most sensitive cases. Hart Hanson (BONES) is executive producer.
“Hart Hanson and Rainn Wilson are the perfect combination of creative vision and on-screen talent to bring this one-of-a-kind character and story like BACKSTROM to FOX,” said Kevin Reilly, Chairman of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “I’ve been in business with Hart for a long time, and not only does he have a rare gift for infusing darker themes with relatable humor, he’s one of the best showrunners out there today. Together with Rainn – who absolutely nails this role and makes it a classic FOX character – I think we’ve got something really special here.”
“Naturally, all of us who worked on BACKSTROM thought it was too promising a series to die unseen and Dana and Gary were relentless in their support of the project,” added Hanson. “Imagine our delight to find that Kevin Reilly and his team at FOX agreed enough to pick it up and give us a good home. Thanks FOX!”
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to get a chance to dig into Detective Everett Backstrom. For an actor it’s rare to get a crack at a role of such intelligence, humor and complexity. He’s a delightfully disheveled misanthrope with a twisted, brilliant mind and a heart of barbed wire. Truly the role of a lifetime,” noted Wilson. “Hart Hanson is an incredible writer and showrunner and I couldn’t be more excited to collaborate with him. Last but not least, FOX is the PERFECT home for this fun and disturbed piece of entertainment. They are passionate about the show and I’m ecstatic to be working with Kevin Reilly again (he launched “The Office” on NBC and fought tooth-and-nail for us to stay on the air, let’s not forget) and to be on the same network as my frenemy, Mindy Kaling.”
While the rest of the cast has not been announced, it is known that Dennis Haysbert, Page Kennedy, Kristoffer Polaha and Beatrice Rosen all appeared in the pilot.
