Cote de Pablo spent a long time on NCIS before leaving the series in 2013. In the time since, the well-liked actress hasn’t taken on that many roles, popping up in one TV miniseries and filming last year’s The 33 big screen film. Luckily, it seems she’s been shopping around for new TV projects, and this week we learned she is heading to cable for a new science fiction thriller called Prototype.
If you haven’t heard of Prototype, you’re not alone. The project is currently only in the pilot stage, and it’s in development over at Syfy, which has been busy reworking its lineup over the last year or two. De Pablo is currently in talks to play Laura Kale. The character will be a mom of two and an inventor. At the start of the pilot, she’ll be working on the prototype for a new machine that could change life as we know it (thus the title). However, Deadline reports that setbacks will keep things interesting, although they may keep the machine from reaching its full potential.
Honestly, the explanation of Cote de Pablo’s character is only moderately intriguing, but the overall Syfy series is a little more descriptive and makes it sound as if the stakes will be higher. Prototype is described as a series about a machine that "challenges the very nature of quantum physics." The discovery will put the three lead characters lives in danger. Along with Cote de Pablo if she signs, Jack Davenport is also attached. A third lead has yet to be found.
I’m actually a little surprised that de Pablo isn’t looking for a bigger network series, but maybe Syfy has high hopes for Prototype, which will be written by Tony Basgallup and executive produced by Basgallup and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. The latter is also directing. The actress spent eight years on NCIS, where she definitely made a name for herself. When she left, fans were devastated, but maybe roles haven’t been as forthcoming as she hoped after leaving the long-running CBS drama. Or maybe Prototype will really just be that good.
A show about a machine may not have intrigued me just a few years ago, but the Bad Robot production Person of Interest has certainly shown how a show about a machine could make for fun and flashy TV. Prototype could do the same thing over at the Syfy network, and if the pilot is any good, it could mean the cabler is finally starting to flesh out a less import-oriented lineup. The network also earned acclaim—at least among science fiction fans—in the past year for the new series The Expanse.
We’ll let you know if this one moves forward. In the meantime, you can catch the rest of the NCIS cast on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET, only on CBS. Other veteran Michael Weatherly, who plays Anthony DiNozzo on the show, is also leaving the show for other projects soon. But hey, there's always that other lead in Prototype open…
